NEW YORK, March 22, 2023 (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 Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN), and Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR), and Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE: FIS), Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH). 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.
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN)
Class Period: September 14, 2020 – February 7, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 2, 2023
At the outset of the Class Period, Lumen announced it would redefine its business by renaming itself from CenturyLink to Lumen and refining its marketing approach, cutting off market segments and operations that did not align with the Company’s strategic objectives and adding market segments that were aligned with the Company’s vision.
Specifically, Lumen announced to investors that it would leverage its existing 400,000 route miles of fiber optic cable, which had previously serviced enterprise and wholesale markets, to expand its fiber services to small and medium business (“SMB”) and residential or consumer markets. Lumen represented to investors that expanding its fiber services into the SMB and residential markets, branded as Quantum Fiber, was a natural fit for the Company that represented a strong opportunity for growth.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants represented to investors and the public that Lumen was, among other things, “investing heavily in our consumer fiber business” and “aggressively taking market share in our small business segment.” Defendants also represented that “we continue expanding our Quantum Fiber footprint and increasing our penetration” and “we’re not capital-constrained. So as we continue to improve our penetration and performance, we’ll continue to expand our footprint, and we believe we’ve got a long runway for growth in — within Lumen in Quantum Fiber.”
However, contrary to Defendants’ statements touting the rate of investment and progress in expanding fiber services to SMB and residential markets, Lumen was experiencing serious headwinds that were impeding its ability to grow its newly-targeted fiber markets.
Beginning on February 9, 2022, Defendants began to admit that Lumen’s expansion into SMB and residential fiber services was occurring slower than previously represented. On this news, Lumen’s stock price declined $1.99, from a close of $12.82 per share on February 9, 2022, to a close of $10.83 on February 10, 2022.
On November 2, 2022, Defendants continued to partially disclose the truth when Lumen’s Chief Executive Officer admitted, “let me be clear, we are not yet at the pace of build we expect or want” with respect to the Company’s development of its Quantum Fiber brand. On this news, Lumen’s stock price declined $1.25, from a close of $7.05 per share on November 2, 2022, to a close of $5.80 on November 3, 2022.
By February 7, 2023, Defendants would admit, contrary to what was previously represented, that they had pressed “more of a stop button than a pause button” on Lumen’s investment into the Quantum Fiber network and expansion into the SMB and residential markets while the Company re-evaluated its strategic priorities. The price of Lumen’s common stock had been artificially inflated by Defendants’ misrepresentations about the Company’s progress expanding into SMB and residential markets. Upon the news that Lumen’s progress was slower than represented and that Lumen had stopped investing in the expansion of its Quantum Fiber network, the price of Lumen’s common stock plummeted as the artificial inflation was removed from the price. On this news, Lumen’s stock price declined $1.04, from a close of $4.99 per share on February 7, 2023, to a close of $3.95 on February 8, 2023.
For more information on the Lumen class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/LUMN
Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR)
Class Period: April 1, 2022 – August 8, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 2, 2023
According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. Vertex announced it would acquire an oil refinery in Mobile, Alabama, with the plan to partially convert it for the production of renewable diesel fuel, which it claimed would improve profitability. The Company were involved in transactions, including the financing arrangement to purchase the refinery, that would lead to significant losses after the acquisition. In fact, these transactions caused the Company to lose $125 million in loses during the class period. Based on these facts, the Company’s public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the class period. When the market learned the truth about Vertex Energy, investors suffered damages.
For more information on the Vertex Energy class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/VTNR
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE: FIS)
Class Period: February 9, 2021 – February 10, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 5, 2023
Fidelity National provides global e-commerce and payment technologies to financial institutions and businesses and, in recent years, has become the largest processing and payments company in the world. The Company is most known for its development of Financial Technology, or FinTech, and offers its solutions in three primary segments: Merchant Solutions; Banking Solutions; and Capital Market Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment accounted for approximately 30% of the Company’s total revenue in 2021, and serves merchants by enabling them to accept, authorize, and settle electronic payment transactions.
Throughout its history, Fidelity National has acquired several other financial technology firms. Relevant to the allegations here, on July 31, 2019, Fidelity National announced it had closed the acquisition of payments company Worldpay, Inc. (“Worldpay”) for $43 billion, consisting of $35 billion in cash and the assumption of $8 billion in debt. As a result of the acquisition, the Worldpay business became part of the Merchant Solutions segment.
During the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements about Fidelity National’s latest acquisition of Worldpay by assuring investors it had “successfully completed the Worldpay integration” and touting the benefits of the Worldpay integration for the Company. As a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects during the Class Period were materially false and /or misleading.
Investors slowly learned that the Company’s important Merchant Solutions segment was underperforming and that the Company’s integration of Worldpay was not “successfully completed.”
First, on August 4, 2022, Fidelity National announced that its Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), James Woodall, planned to “step down” as Corporate Executive Vice President and CFO effective November 4, 2022. On this news, the price of Fidelity National stock fell more than 7%, from a closing price of $104.13 per share on August 3, 2022 to a closing price of $96.57 per share on August 4, 2022.
Other management changes soon followed. On October 18, 2022, the Company announced that Stephanie Ferris, who was appointed President of the Company in February and had served as the CFO of Worldpay, would become the new Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) effective January 1, 2023. The Company also announced that that the outgoing CEO, Gary Norcross, who had been with the Company since 1988 and in the CEO role since 2015, would become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors upon the transition.
Then, on November 3, 2022, Fidelity National reported that its Merchant Solutions segment – namely Worldpay – suffered a “margin contraction of 430 basis points.” In response to this news, the price of Fidelity National stock declined more than 29%, from a closing price of $79.47 per share on November 2, 2022, to a closing price of $57.18 per share on November 3, 2022. Analysts reported the new Fidelity National management “recognize[d] the need to rebuild investor confidence.”
Finally, before markets opened on February 13, 2023, Fidelity National announced it would spin off Worldpay, and in the process, the Company recognized a stunning $17.6 billion write-down on the asset. In response to this revelation, the price of Fidelity National stock fell more than 12%, from a closing price of $75.43 per share on the prior trading day of February 10, 2023, to a closing price of $66.00 per share on February 13, 2023.
As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and misleading statements, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.
For more information on the Fidelity National class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/FIS
Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH)
Class Period: November 3, 2021 – January 31, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 5, 2023
Match is a technology and social media company that operates one of the world’s largest portfolios of online dating brands and apps. Match’s most notable dating apps include Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and PlentyOfFish. Tinder, which generated more than half of Match’s revenue during the Class Period, is Match’s largest and most important brand.
The Class Period begins on November 3, 2021, to coincide with Match’s announcement of its third quarter 2021 financial results after the market closed on November 2, 2021. In a letter to shareholders, Defendants touted Tinder’s “radical product transformation,” which included recently launched product initiatives such as a new “Explore” feature. Defendants further stated that “[t]he interactive and social experiences within Explore are the harbinger for Tinder’s long-term vision,” and noted that Tinder was working on several other monetization opportunities, such as an in-app virtual currency.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants continued to represent that Tinder was effectively executing on several critical product initiatives that would drive growth for the Company in 2022 and beyond. For example, as recently as May 2022, Defendants assured investors that Tinder was “on track” with these product initiatives and “on schedule with what [Tinder] planned to deliver in 2022.”
Investors began to learn the truth on August 2, 2022, when the Company announced financial results for the second quarter of 2022 and warned that it expected Tinder’s growth to slow in the second half of 2022 as the result of poor product execution. Specifically, Defendants admitted that “Tinder did not deliver on its product roadmap for the first half of the year,” forcing the Company to delay the launch of several initiatives and optimizations that it had previously expected to generate growth in 2022.
On this news, the price of Match common stock declined $13.47 per share, or more than 17%, from a close of $76.71 per share on August 2, 2022, to close at $63.24 per share on August 3, 2022.
Despite these revelations, Defendants continued to assure investors that the Company had revamped the Tinder team and that the new team was successfully executing on the initiatives. For example, on November 1, 2022, Defendants assured investors that Tinder’s “[p]roduct execution is already improving” and that “early results are showing promise.”
However, on January 31, 2023, the Company reported disappointing financial results for 2022, including total revenue that missed the Company’s prior guidance. Defendants largely attributed the shortfall to “weaker-than-expected product execution at Tinder, the effects of which became more pronounced as the year progressed.” During an earnings conference call the following day, Defendants further admitted that Tinder had “decelerated as the year went on.”
On this news, the price of Match common stock declined $2.71 per share, or 5%, from a close of $54.12 per share on January 31, 2023, to close at $51.41 per share on February 1, 2023.
This Complaint 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 misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company was not effectively executing on Tinder’s new product initiatives; (2) as a result, the Company was not on track to deliver Tinder’s planned product initiatives in 2022; and (3) therefore, Defendants’ statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis.
As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the significant decline in the market value of the Company’s common stock when the truth was revealed, Plaintiff and other members of the Class (defined below) have suffered significant damages.
For more information on the Match class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/MTCH
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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