Oct 1, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
SEC Order Finds That HP Violated Antifraud, Reporting And Disclosure Controls Provisions Of Federal Securities Laws. HP To Pay $6 million Penalty.
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making investors aware that on September 30, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against technology company HP Inc. for misleading investors by failing to disclose the impact of sales practices undertaken in an effort to meet quarterly sales and earnings targets. HP has agreed to pay $6 million to settle the charges.
According to the SEC’s order, from early 2015 through the middle of 2016, in an effort to meet quarterly sales targets, regional managers at HP used a variety of incentives to accelerate, or “pull-in” to the current quarter, sales of printing supplies that they otherwise expected to materialize in later quarters.
The order finds that, in an effort to meet revenue and earnings targets, managers in one HP region sold printing supplies at substantial discounts to resellers known to sell HP products outside of the resellers’ designated territories, in violation of HP policy and distributor agreements. The order also found that HP failed to disclose known trends and uncertainties associated with these sales practices, as well as that HP failed to disclose that its internal channel inventory ranges, which it described in quarterly earnings calls, included only channel inventory held by channel partners to which HP sold directly and not by channel partners further down the distribution chain, thereby disclosing only a partial and incomplete picture of HP’s channel health.
As set forth in the order, HP changed its go-to-market model in part to address these undisclosed sales practices and undertook a channel inventory reduction that reduced its net revenue by approximately $450 million during the third and fourth quarters of 2016.
The SEC’s order finds that HP violated the antifraud, reporting and disclosure controls provisions of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, HP consented to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a $6 million penalty.
Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – SEC.gov
Sep 30, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors of Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. (“Tactile” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: TCMD) to determine whether Tactile engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
Tactile investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, the Company’s securities between May 7, 2018 and June 8, 2020, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), and suffered losses greater than $100,000 are encouraged to complete Kehoe Law Firm’s Securities Class Action Questionnaire or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected], to discuss the securities investigation or potential legal claims.
According to a class action lawsuit filed on September 29, 2020 in United States District Court, District of Minnesota, during the Class Period, the Tactile Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies, and financial results.
According to the class action complaint, the Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) while Tactile publicly touted a $4 plus billion or $5 plus billion market opportunity, in truth, the total addressable market for Tactile’s pneumatic compression devices (“PCDs”) was materially smaller; (2) to induce sales growth and share gains, Tactile and/or its employees were engaged in illicit and illegal sales and marketing activities in violation of applicable federal and state rules and public payer regulations; (3) the foregoing illicit and illegal sales and marketing activities increased the risk of a Medicare audit of Tactile’s claims and criminal and civil liability; (4) Tactile’s revenues were in part the product of unlawful conduct and, thus, unsustainable; and as a result of the foregoing, (5) the Defendants’ public statements, including Tactile’s year-over-year revenue growth, the purported growth drivers, and the effectiveness of Tactile’s internal controls over financial reporting, were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
Sep 30, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors of Pintec Technology Holdings Limited (“Pintec” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: PT) to determine whether the Company engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
Pintec investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, the Company’s securities pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus (collectively, the “Registration Statement”) issued in connection with Pintec’s October 2018 Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) are encouraged to complete Kehoe Law Firm’s Securities Class Action Questionnaire or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected], to discuss the securities investigation or potential legal claims.
According to the class action complaint, the Registration Statement was false and misleading and omitted to state material facts. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company erroneously recorded revenue earned from certain technical service fee on a net basis, rather than a gross basis; (2) that there were material weaknesses in Pintec’s internal control over financial reporting related to cash advances outside the normal course of business to Jimu Group, a related party, and to a non-routine loan financing transaction with a third-party entity, Plutux Labs; (3) as a result of the foregoing, Pintec’s financial results for fiscal 2017 and 2018 had been misstated; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
Sep 22, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors of NextCure, Inc. (“NextCure” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: NXTC) to determine whether the Company engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
NextCure investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, the Company’s common stock between November 5, 2019 and July 14, 2020, inclusive (the “Class Period”), AND/OR pursuant or traceable to the Company’s Registration and Prospectus filed with the SEC on November 12 and 18, 2019, and suffered losses greater than $100,000 are encouraged to complete Kehoe Law Firm’s Securities Class Action Questionnaire or contact Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected], [email protected], to discuss the securities investigation or potential legal claims.
A class action lawsuit filed against NextCure in United States District Court alleges that the NextCure Defendants misled investors by issuing false and misleading statements concerning the effectiveness of NC318, the responses observed in patients treated with NC318, and NC318’s potential to treat patients’ refractory to PD-1 therapies. According to the class action complaint, the Defendants’ statements were materially misleading, because the NC318 data Defendants possessed showed a lack of efficacy and objective responses. Had the truth been revealed, according to the complaint, the market would have seen that NC318 was not, in fact, effective in treating most tumor types, that the NC318 application was proving to be limited (if even useful at all), and, as a result, there was a significant realizable risk that NC318 would not be nearly as popular as then-existing blockbuster drugs, such as Keytruda.
Sep 15, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors of Qutoutiao Inc. (“Qutoutiao” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: QTT) to determine whether the Company engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
Qutoutiao investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, the Company’s common stock pursuant to and/or traceable to the Company’s September 2018 Initial Public Offering and/or between September 14, 2018 and July 15, 2020, inclusive (the “Class Period”), and suffered losses greater than $50,000 are encouraged to complete Kehoe Law Firm’s Securities Class Action Questionnaire or contact Kevin Cauley, Director, Business Development, (215) 792-6676, Ext. 802, [email protected], [email protected], to discuss the securities investigation or potential legal claims.
According to a class action lawsuit, during the Class Period, the Qutoutiao defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that (1) Qutoutiao replaced its advertising agent with a related party, thereby bypassing third-party oversight of the content and quality of the advertisements; (2) the Company placed advertisements on its mobile app for products whose claims could not be substantiated and, thus. were considered false advertisements under applicable regulations; (3) as a result, the Company would face increasing regulatory scrutiny and reputational harm; (4) as a result, Qutoutiao’s advertising revenue was reasonably likely to decline; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, the Qutoutiao Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
Sep 14, 2020 | Securities Class Action Archive
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors of Blink Charging Company (“Blink Charging,” “Blink,” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BLNK) to determine whether the Company engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
Blink Charging investors who purchased, or otherwise acquired, the Company’s common stock between March 6, 2020 and August 19, 2020, inclusive (the “Class Period”), and suffered losses greater than $50,000 are encouraged to complete Kehoe Law Firm’s Securities Class Action Questionnaire or contact Kevin Cauley, Director, Business Development, (215) 792-6676, Ext. 802, [email protected], [email protected], to discuss the securities investigation or potential legal claims.
According to the class action complaint, throughout the Class Period, the Blink Charging Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. According to the complaint, the Blink Defendants failed to disclose that (1) many of Blink’s charging stations are damaged, neglected, non-functional, inaccessible; (2) Blink’s purported partnerships and expansions with other companies were overstated; (3) the purported growth of the Company’s network has been overstated; and (4) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and materially misleading at all relevant times.
