NEW YORK, May 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL), Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: PERI), Doximity, Inc. (NYSE: DOCS), and Sharecare, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHCR). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.
QuidelOrtho Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL)
Class Period: February 18, 2022 – April 1, 2024 (Common Stock Only)
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 11, 2024
QuidelOrtho provides tests for the detection and diagnosis of various respiratory diseases and other medical conditions. The Company’s respiratory business has historically been tied to the sale of seasonal flu tests and more recently to COVID-19 detection tests. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has generated a significant portion of its revenue through the sale of high-margin COVID-19 tests to government customers, healthcare providers (through its authorized distributors), and large retail pharmacy chains. QuidelOrtho manufactures respiratory tests under various brands, including QuickVue, Sofia, and Savanna.
In December 2022, the Company announced that it had agreed to merge with Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Holdings plc (“Ortho”). The merger closed in May 2022, shortly after the start of the Class Period. Meanwhile, COVID-19 was transitioning from pandemic to “endemic” status (i.e., COVID-19 infections no longer growing exponentially). Despite COVID-19 transitioning into an endemic, Defendants assured investors that it was well positioned to maintain a stable high margin revenue stream from its respiratory business. Among other strategies, the Company aimed to launch its “next flagship product,” a new test called the Savanna Respiratory Viral Panel-4 (the “Savanna RVP4 Test,” which tests for COVID-19 along with other respiratory conditions) by utilizing Ortho’s commercial distribution network. During the Class Period, the Savanna RVP4 Test was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) to be marketed or sold in the United States. Therefore, investors closely monitored the Company’s progress in getting the Savanna RVP4 Test approved.
According to the filed complaint, throughout the Class Period, Defendants misled investors by making statements that were false and misleading when made because they knew or deliberately disregarded and failed to disclose the following adverse facts about QuidelOrtho’s business, operations, and prospects: (a) that QuidelOrtho sold more COVID-19 tests to its distributors and pharmacy chain customers than they could resell to healthcare providers and end customers; (b) that excess inventories of COVID-19 tests existed throughout the supply chain; (c) that, as a result of (a)-(b), QuidelOrtho’s distributors and pharmacy chain customers were poised to significantly reduce their COVID-19 test orders; (d) that undisclosed problems created a heightened risk that the Savanna RVP4 Test would experience a delayed commercial launch in the United States; and (e) that, as a result of (a)-(d), Defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about QuidelOrtho’s business, financials, and growth trajectory.
The filed complaint further alleges that the truth began to emerge on February 13, 2024, when QuidelOrtho reported underwhelming results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023. Among other things, the Company’s Adjusted Earnings Per Share was 46% below the midpoint of Wall Street analysts’ expectations. This miss was largely attributed to lower COVID-19 revenues during the quarter due to distributor destocking. QuidelOrtho also lowered its annual endemic COVID-19 revenue forecast from the range of $200-$400 million to $200 million.
On this news, the price of QuidelOrtho stock dropped $21.50, or more than 32 percent, to close at $45.27 on February 14, 2024.
Then, on April 2, 2024, QuidelOrtho announced that it had withdrawn its FDA 510(k) submission for approval to sell the Savanna RVP4 Test in the United States after recent data did not meet expectations.
On this news, the price of QuidelOrtho stock dropped $4.85, or more than 10 percent, to close at $42.15 on April 2, 2024.
For more information on the QuidelOrtho class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/QDEL
Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: PERI)
Class Period: February 9, 2021 – April 5, 2024
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 17, 2024
Perion’s most significant search partner and largest source of revenue is Microsoft. The company’s agreement with Microsoft accounted for more than one third of Perion’s revenue in the each of the last three years. On April 8, 2024, Perion announced preliminary financial results for Q1 2024 and updated full year 2024 guidance, revealing that in Q1 Perion experienced a decline in search advertising activity due to changes in pricing implemented by Microsoft Bing. On this news, the price of Perion Network Ltd. common stock declined by $8.61 per share, or approximately 40%, on April 8, 2024.
The filed complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material facts, including that: (1) Perion’s search advertising business was not a reliable and significant growth driver and was in fact in decline; (2) Perion’s long-term relationship with Microsoft and search services agreement would not provide stability for Perion’s search advertising business; (3) there was an increased risk of Microsoft acting to unilaterally change its advertising pricing and mechanisms to the detriment of Perion while the search services agreement was in place; (4) Perion’s AI technology and Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT would not protect or grow Perion’s search advertising revenue; and (5) based on the foregoing, Defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about Perion’s search advertising business and related financial results, growth, and prospects.
For more information on the Perion class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/PERI
Doximity, Inc. (NYSE: DOCS)
Class Period: February 9, 2022 – April 1, 2024 (Common Stock Only)
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 17, 2024
Doximity operates a digital platform that provides connections between, medical information to, and patient scheduling tools for medical professionals. The Class Period begins on February 9, 2022, when Doximity released its quarterly financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, after the market closed the night prior. During the accompanying quarterly investor earnings call afterhours on February 8, 2022, Defendant Anna Bryson, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, emphasized that “marketers have been able to witness the value of running these digital programs” and that it was this “value that’s the main reason we’re seeing this sustained demand from our customers and not new [COVID] variants.” To this end, Defendant Bryson further assured investors that the Company was “focused on . . . really building a business that can provide years of sustainable growth with high margins.”
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants continued to tout the sustainability of the Company’s business prospects while also downplaying the importance of customer upsell rates on the Company’s financial performance. For example, during the Company’s second quarter fiscal year 2023 investor earnings call on November 10, 2022, Defendant Jeffrey Tangney, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, reassured investors that “pharma’s doing quite well” amid investor concerns that macroeconomic headwinds would substantially impact Doximity’ financial performance. Defendant Bryson similarly emphasized that the Company’s sales pipeline has “bigger dollar deals than we’ve seen before” and, to alleviate investor concerns, explained that, while Doximity’s upsell rates were “a little below historical norms,” customer upsells are “not a significant portion of our revenue.”
Similarly, in February 2023, Defendant Bryson specifically noted that Doximity is “less dependent on major upsell than prior years,” and in May 2023, Defendant Bryson indicated that the Company was being conservative with its financial guidance to the market by assuming upsell rates of “half of our historical [upsell] rate.”
The complaint further alleges that notwithstanding Defendants’ claims regarding the sustainability of Doximity’s growth and profitability, investors began to learn the truth on August 8, 2023, when, after the market closed, Doximity reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, 2023. While the Company exceeded its quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for the first quarter, the Company provided disappointing guidance for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 and slashed its guidance for the full fiscal year 2024. Specifically, Doximity announced that it expected fiscal year 2024 revenue of between $452 million and $468 million (down from prior guidance of between $500 million and $506 million, and representing year-over-year revenue growth of only between 7.9% and 11.7%), and adjusted EBITDA of between $193 million and $209 million (down from prior guidance of between $216 million and $222 million, and representing year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth of only between 4.9% and 13.6%). In conjunction with the disappointing guidance, Doximity announced that it would reduce its workforce by approximately 10%. The Company further noted that the workforce reduction is expected to cost approximately $8 million to $10 million.
In explaining this about-face, Defendant Bryson admitted that the Company’s “major upsells have materially underperformed, and we expect this to continue in the near term.” Defendant Tangney further explained that Doximity failed to close sales due, in part, to “fewer face-to-face meetings with our clients.” On this news, the price of Doximity common stock declined $7.49 per share, or nearly 23%, from a close of $32.79 per share on August 8, 2023, to close at $25.30 per share on August 9, 2023.
Investors learned more about the unsustainability of the Company’s revenue growth on April 1, 2024, when Jehoshaphat Research published a report alleging, among other things, that “Doximity’s underlying sales . . . are declining at a negative -3-6% rate, but that this decline has been masked through accelerated revenue recognition.” On this news, the price of Doximity common stock declined $1.11 per share, or more than 4% over two trading-days, from a close of $26.91 per share on March 28, 2024, to close at $25.80 per share on April 2, 2024.
The Complaint further alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts, about the Company’s business and operations. Specifically, Defendants repeatedly touted the Company’s business prospects and the sustainability of the Company’s revenue growth and profitability, while downplaying the impact of competition and tightening macroeconomic conditions on the Company and Doximity’s reliance on “upselling” products and services (such as additional advertising) to existing customers to sustain the Company’s performance and future growth.
For more information on the Doximity class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/DOCS
Sharecare, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHCR)
Class Period: May 10, 2023 – March 28, 2024
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 18, 2024
According to the filed complaint, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Sharecare lacked adequate internal controls and; (2) as a result, Defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times.
For more information on the Sharecare class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SHCR
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Contact Information:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
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