Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Skillz, PureCycle, Danimer Scientific, and Aterian and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm
NEW YORK, June 30, 2021 (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 Skillz, Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ), PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCT), Danimer Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: DNMR), and Aterian, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATER). 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.
Skillz, Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ)
Class Period: December 16, 2020 and April 19, 2021
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 7, 2021
Skillz and senior management repeatedly touted the company’s revenue growth and projections to support its valuation.
Defendants’ statements were first brought into serious question on Mar. 8, 2021, when analyst Wolfpack Research published a scathing report, accusing Skillz of concealing that revenues from three games responsible for 88% of Skillz’s total revenues (Blitz, Solitaire Cube, Blackout Bingo) substantially declined and effectively gutted the company’s growth projections.
Then, on April 18, 2021, Eagle Eye Research published a report claiming Skillz’s revenue recognition practices were “like round-tripping where the company is effectively giving its customers money to spend on SKLZ and recognizing revenue from it, i.e. generating no net economic profits.” Eagle Eye concluded “that true cash revenue is less than ½ of what management portrays to investors.”
On this news, Skillz’s stock price fell $1.56 per share, or more than 11%, to close at $12.55 per share on April 20, 2021.
The complaint, filed on May 7, 2021, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) three games responsible for a majority of Skillz’s revenues had declined substantially; (ii) Skillz’s revenue recognition policy misrepresented the financial condition of the company; (iii) unrealistic market growth, specifically in the Android market; and (iv) as a result defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
On May 6, 2021, before the markets opened, analyst Hindenburg Research issued a scathing report concerning PureCycle. In its report, Hindenburg wrote that “PureCycle represents the worst qualities of the SPAC boom; another quintessential example of how executives and SPAC sponsors enrich themselves while hoisting unproven technology and ridiculous financial projections onto the public markets, leaving retail investors to face the ultimate consequences.” Hindenburg explained that it spoke with “multiple former employees” of earlier companies that PureCycle’s CEO and other associated executives took public before PureCycle, “who said that PureCycle’s executives based their financial projections on ‘wild guessing,’ brought companies public far too early, and had deceived investors.”
On this news, PureCycle’s stock price fell approximately 40% per share, from their May 5, 2021 close of $24.59 to a May 6, 2021 close of $14.83, on unusually heavy volume.
The complaint alleges that throughout the class period defendants issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the technology PureCycle licensed from Procter & Gamble is not proven and presents serious issues even at lab scale; (ii) the challenges posed by the availability and competition for the raw materials necessary to commercialize the licensed technology are significant; (iii) PureCycle's financial projections are baseless; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On March 20, 2021, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “Plastic Straws That Quickly Biodegrade in the Ocean, Not Quite, Scientists Say” addressing, among other things, Danimer’s claims that Nodax, a plant-based plastic that Danimer markets, breaks down far more quickly than fossil-fuel plastics. The Wall Street Journal article alleges that according to several experts on biodegradable plastics, “many claims about Nodax are exaggerated and misleading.” While Danimer reportedly asserts its claims are factual, the article cites at least one expert as stating that making broad claims about Nodax’s biodegradability “is not accurate” and is “greenwashing.”
On March 22, 2021, the first trading day following publication of the Wall Street Journal article, Danimer’s stock price fell $6.43 per share, or roughly 13%, to close at $43.55 per share on March 22, 2021.
Following the end of the Class Period, on April 22, 2021, Spruce Point Capital Management (“Spruce Point”) published a report on Danimer, noting, among other red flags, various inconsistencies with Legacy Danimer’s (and Danimer’s) historical and present claims regarding the size of its operations, Nodax’s makeup and degradability, and the Company’s expected profitability.
Following publication of the Spruce Point report, Danimer’s stock price fell $2.01 per share, or 8.04%, to close at $22.99 per share on April 22, 2021.
Then, on May 4, 2021, Spruce Point published another report on Danimer alleging that the Company had “wildly overstated” production figures, pricing, and financial projections based on documents Spruce Point had acquired from the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Department of Environmental Protection (“KDEP”) under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), all of which cast serious doubt on the integrity of the Company’s internal controls.
Following publication of this second Spruce Point report, Danimer’s stock price fell $1.49 per share, or 6.31%, to close at $22.14 per share on April 22, 2021.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Danimer had deficient internal controls; (ii) as a result, the Company had misrepresented, inter alia, its operations’ size and regulatory compliance; (iii) Defendants had overstated Nodax’s biodegradability, particularly in oceans and landfills; and (iv) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On May 4, 2021, before the markets opened, analyst Culper Research issued a scathing report concerning Aterian. In its report, Culper wrote that “the Company has ties to convicted criminals and is promoting what we believe is an overhyped ‘AI’ narrative and a string of garbage acquisitions to mask the failure of its already ill-conceived core business.” Culper continued that “Aterian has been largely unsuccessful in convincing other Amazon sellers to pay for its ‘AIMEE’ AI platform, and at least 5 former employees and a former customer have expressed doubts regarding AIMEE’s legitimacy. We think that Aterian’s underlying business has failed, forcing the Company to obscure its poor performance with a series of questionable acquisitions.” Culper further wrote: “[w]e believe that there are serious problems with Aterian’s claims to maintain strong organic growth and to drive M&A synergies: to us, neither of these appears to be the case. . . . In our view, this suggests not only that Aterian is unable to grow EBITDA at acquired businesses, but that its core business is also failing to produce.”
On this news, the price of Aterian stock fell from its May 3, 2021 close of $20.66 to a May 5, 2021 close of $15.72 per share, a two-day drop of $3.04 per share or approximately 24%.
The complaint alleges that throughout the class period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Aterian’s organic growth is plummeting; (2) Aterian’s recent, self-lauded acquisitions were overpayments for flawed assets from questionable sources; (3) Aterian’s purported artificial intelligence software is a flawed product that lacks customer interest; (4) Aterian uses rebate programs and paid or artificial reviews to pump up their product offerings; and (5) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
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.
