NEW YORK, March 12, 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 GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE: EAF), Maplebear, Inc. d/b/a Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA), and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLX). 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.
GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE: EAF)
Class Period: February 8, 2019 - August 3, 2023 (Common Stock Only)
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 25, 2024
The GrafTech class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) GrafTech’s manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico had for decades chronically contaminated neighboring communities with harmful carcinogenic gasses and particulate matter; (ii) GrafTech had signed agreements with local authorities committing itself to improving the environmental performance of its Monterrey facility, but repeatedly failed to honor these commitments; (iii) GrafTech had been repeatedly warned over an approximately 30-year period regarding its wanton disregard for the environment and health and well-being of people near its operations in Monterrey, Mexico; (iv) GrafTech’s operations in Monterrey, Mexico were not in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations; (v) GrafTech had failed to adequately remediate the environmental problems caused by the Monterrey facility following the 2019 administrative proceeding conducted by the Department of Sustainable Development of the State of Nuevo León; (vi) the government of Apodaca had sought intervention from the State of Nuevo León authorities to curtail and prevent the adverse environmental impacts and noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations caused by the Monterrey facility; (vii) GrafTech’s purported cost leadership was achieved in substantial part by failing to implement appropriate and effective environmental safeguards at its manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico; (viii) GrafTech’s capital expenditures and/or related operational projects were woefully insufficient to adequately address the harm that GrafTech’s operations in Monterrey, Mexico had inflicted on the environment and people within the neighboring communities; (ix) as a result of the above, GrafTech was acutely exposed to undisclosed material risks that GrafTech’s manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico would be severely disrupted by government action or enforcement; and (x) as a result of the above, GrafTech was acutely exposed to undisclosed material risks that its supplies of pin stock and graphite electrodes would be withdrawn and/or materially diminished, thereby materially harming GrafTech’s business, operations, reputation, and financial results.
For more information on the GrafTech class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/EAF
Maplebear, Inc. d/b/a Instacart (NASDAQ: CART)
Class Period: pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents issued in connection with the Company’s initial public offering conducted on or about September 19, 2023; and/or September 19, 2023 - October 1, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 25, 2024
Instacart provides online grocery shopping services to households in North America. The Company sells and delivers a range of products in the food, alcohol, consumer health, pet care, and ready-made meals categories, in addition to others. The Company offers its services through a mobile application and website, while also providing software-as-a-service solutions to retailers.
On August 25, 2023, Instacart filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with the IPO, which, after several amendments, was declared effective by the SEC on September 18, 2023 (the "Registration Statement").
On September 19, 2023, pursuant to the Registration Statement, Instacart's common stock began publicly trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market ("NASDAQ") under the ticker symbol "CART".
On September 20, 2023, Instacart filed a prospectus on Form 424B4 with the SEC in connection with the IPO, which incorporated and formed part of the Registration Statement (the "Prospectus" and, collectively with the Registration Statement, the "Offering Documents").
Pursuant to the Offering Documents, Instacart and other selling stockholders identified in the Prospectus sold 14.1 million and 7.9 million shares of the Company's common stock to the public, respectively, at the Offering price of $30.00 per share for total proceeds of approximately $400 million and $224 million to Instacart and the selling stockholders, respectively, after applicable underwriting discounts and commissions.
The complaint alleges that the Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation. In addition, the complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the Offering Documents and Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Instacart had overstated the extent to which online grocery shopping and delivery habits among consumers were accelerating; (ii) Instacart had downplayed the extent of the competition that it faced in the online grocery shopping and delivery market; (iii) accordingly, Defendants overstated the Company's post-IPO growth, business, and financial prospects; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On September 22, 2023, Reuters published an article noting, among other things, that Instacart's stock price was falling after "lukewarm analyst reports" indicated that the Company would struggle from heavy competition. For example, the article noted that "BTIG analyst Jake Fuller gave Instacart a 'neutral' rating and warned that the company faces heavy competition from DoorDash (DASH.N) and Uber Technologies (UBER.N) in the slowly expanding market of grocery delivery."
On this news, Instacart's stock price fell $0.65 per share, or 2.12%, to close at $30.00 per share on September 22, 2023.
Then, on October 2, 2023, investment research firm Gordon Haskett initiated coverage of Instacart with a "hold" rating, stating that it "ha[s] doubts that online grocery delivery adoption will continue to materially increase at a time when consumers are becoming increasingly cautious about spending", while similarly citing the competitive environment in the online grocery shopping and delivery market as a headwind to the Company's business.
On this news, Instacart's stock price fell $2.73 per share, or 9.2%, to close at $26.96 per share on October 2, 2023.
As of the time the complaint was filed, Instacart's common stock continues to trade below the $30.00 per share Offering price, damaging investors.
For more information on the Instacart class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CART
Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA)
Class Period: August 18, 2022 - October 12, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 2, 2024
Cassava is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The Company's lead therapeutic drug candidate is PTI-125 (or "simufilam"), a small molecule drug for the proposed treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
In March 2020, Cassava initiated a long-term, open-label study to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of simufilam 100 mg twice daily for 12 or more months in patients with Alzheimer's disease and to assess exploratory efficacy endpoints, such as changes in cognition, and biomarkers.
Then, in August 2021, a Citizen Petition requested the United States Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") to halt any phase 3 trials of simufilam due to concerns regarding data manipulation. Specifically, the Citizen Petition referenced "grave concerns about the quality and integrity of the laboratory-based studies surrounding this drug candidate and supporting the claims for its efficacy."
However, in response, Cassava denied the allegations in the Citizen Petition and instead touted the effectiveness of simufilam and the efficacy of the Company's research programs. Indeed, in a press release published shortly after the FDA received the Citizen Petition, Cassava stated that "[t]he Company stands behind its science, its scientists and its scientific collaborators." Thereafter, Cassava continued to maintain its defense of simufilam even as criticisms of simufilam were revealed from additional sources and academic journals such as Neurobiology of Aging and the Journal of Neuroscience issued "expressions of concern" regarding the efficacy of the drug.
On October 12, 2023, the peer-reviewed academic journal Science reported that Professor Hoau-Yan Wang ("Dr. Wang"), a City University of New York researcher associated with the research program for simufilam, had been investigated by university officials for possible data manipulation. Although the investigative committee did not have access to the raw data at issue and thus was unable to confirm that data manipulation had occurred, members made their conclusion based on "long-standing and egregious misconduct in data management and record keeping by Dr. Wang" and "found evidence highly suggestive of deliberate scientific misconduct" by Dr. Wang.
On this news, Cassava's stock price fell $2.68 per share, or 15.28%, to close at $14.86 per share on October 13, 2023.
As a result of Defendants' wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company's securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.
The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company failed to maintain adequate and effective data management controls and procedures related to its drug research programs; (ii) as a result, the data published in support of simufilam were susceptible to manipulation to overstate the drug's effectiveness; (iii) accordingly, Cassava had misrepresented the efficacy of its research programs and the clinical and/or commercial prospects of simufilam; (iv) all of the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to subject the Company to significant financial and/or reputational harm; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
For more information on the Cassava class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SAVA
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLX)
Class Period: November 11, 2022 - November 8, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 9, 2024
Amylyx is a commercial-stage biotechnology company that engages in the discovery and development of treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ("ALS"), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases. The Company's products include, among others, AMX0035 (commercially referred to as "RELYVRIO" in the U.S.), a dual UPR-Bax apoptosis inhibitor composed of sodium phenylbutyrate and taurursodiol, for the treatment of ALS in adults in the U.S.
Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's September 2022 approval of RELYVRIO for the treatment of ALS in adults in the U.S., Defendants consistently touted the drug's commercial prospects and prescription rate.
The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Defendants had overstated RELYVRIO's commercial prospects; (ii) patients were discontinuing treatment with RELYVRIO after six months; (iii) the rate at which new patients were starting treatment with RELYVRIO was decreasing; (iv) accordingly, Defendants had also overstated RELYVRIO's prescription rate; (v) Defendants attempted to hide the foregoing negative trends from investors and the market by blocking analysts from viewing RELYVRIO's prescription data; and (vi) as a result, Defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On November 9, 2023, Amylyx issued a press release announcing its third quarter ("Q3") 2023 financial results, including Q3 GAAP earnings per share of $0.30, missing consensus estimates by $0.12. That same day, on a conference call with investors and analysts to discuss these results, Company management revealed that, despite "a [purported] steady cadence of new prescriptions written in" Q3 for RELYVRIO, Amylyx's "results were impacted by a number of factors" including a "slowdown in net adds" for RELYVRIO in Q3, which "was primarily driven by increased discontinuations for a variety of reasons", with only "60% of people taking RELYVRIO remain[ing] on therapy six months after initiation in the U.S."
Also on November 9, 2023, Investor's Business Daily published an article addressing the Company's disappointing financial results (the "IBD Article"). The IBD Article cited an Evercore ISI analyst, who questioned Amylyx's assertion that the number of new patients starting treatment with RELYVRIO was "steady", noting that his math suggested otherwise and that Amylyx had blocked analysts from viewing RELYVRIO's prescription data in the summer of 2023. The analyst also stated that, "[k]nowing that [Amylyx's] stock had underperformed in 2023 already, management could have communicated the discontinuations dynamic much earlier," and that the "[s]tock move today in a bad biotech tape and fund performance doesn't help investor confidence among folks that have held onto the stock."
Following these disclosures and the publication of the IBD Article, Amylyx's stock price fell $5.74 per share, or 31.89%, to close at $12.26 per share on November 9, 2023.
For more information on the Amylyx class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/AMLX
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
