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 GoodRx Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDRX), Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), Global Cord Blood Corporation (OTC: CORBF), and Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC). 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.
GoodRx Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDRX)
Class Period: September 23, 2020 - November 8, 2022 (Common Stock Only)
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 21, 2024
GoodRx operates a price comparison platform for prescription drugs which, in many cases, offers consumers access to lower prices (through discount codes and coupons) for their medications. GoodRx generates most of its revenue from contracts with pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) who agree to pay GoodRx a commission on prescription drug purchases made by consumers who use GoodRx’s discount codes and coupons at participating pharmacies. GoodRx also generates a portion of its revenue from subscription plans like the “Kroger Rx Savings Club,” which provides “access [to] lower prescription prices at” pharmacies operated by The Kroger Co. (“Kroger”).
In connection with GoodRx’s initial public offering on September 23, 2020, and throughout the remainder of the Class Period, Defendants continuously touted the Company’s strong relationships with pharmacies as a significant element of its business plan. Among other things, GoodRx repeatedly highlighted the Kroger Rx Savings Club. Critically, however, Defendants never informed investors of the material risk that Kroger, which accounted for nearly 25% of GoodRx’s prescription transactions revenue, could unilaterally refuse to accept GoodRx’s discounts.
According to the filed complaint, investors began to learn the truth about the risks of GoodRx’s over-dependence on Kroger (including the risk that, notwithstanding the Kroger Rx Savings Club, Kroger could unilaterally refuse to accept GoodRx’s discounts) on May 9, 2022, when GoodRx revealed that, late in the first quarter of 2022, “a grocery chain had taken actions that impacted acceptance of discounts from most PBMs for a subset of drugs” and that this “impacted the acceptance of many PBM discounts for certain drugs at this grocer’s stores.” GoodRx further acknowledged that this disruption “could have an estimated revenue impact of roughly $30 million” in the second quarter of 2022—resulting in the Company announcing disappointing second quarter 2022 revenue guidance of only about $190 million.
On this news, the price of GoodRx common stock plummeted $2.78 per share, or more than 25%, from a close of $10.75 per share on May 9, 2022, to close at $7.97 per share on May 10, 2022.
On November 8, 2022, Defendants provided further information on the severity of the revenue impact from the Kroger disruption—with the Company estimating that the “impact of the grocer issue on third quarter [prescription transactions revenue] was approximately $40 million” and that the Company expected “a combined $45 million to $50 million estimated impact to prescription transactions revenue” for the fourth quarter of 2022. Defendants further acknowledged that the Company was seeking to enter into contractual relationships with pharmacies to prevent similar disruptions from occurring in the future.
On this news, the price of GoodRx common stock declined an additional $1.18 per share, or more than 22%, from a close of $5.24 per share on November 8, 2022, to close at $4.06 per share on November 9, 2022.
The Complaint further alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose that: (1) while Kroger accounted for less than 5% of the pharmacies accepting GoodRx discounts, Kroger was responsible for nearly 25% of GoodRx’s total prescription transactions revenue (the Company’s primary revenue stream); and (2) Kroger could unilaterally cease accepting GoodRx discounts, cutting off some or all of GoodRx’s revenues for purchases at Kroger’s pharmacies; and (3) as a result, Defendants’ representations about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
For more information on the GoodRx class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/GDRX
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK)
Class Period: June 1, 2023 - April 16, 2024
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 24, 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) Autodesk, Inc. lacked adequate internal controls as a result of issues with its free cash flow and non-GAAP operating margin practices; 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 Autodesk class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/ADSK
Global Cord Blood Corporation (OTC: CORBF)
Class Period: June 4, 2019 - May 3, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 21, 2024
Global Cord, together with its subsidiaries, provides umbilical cord blood storage and ancillary services in the in the Beijing Municipality, Guangdong Province, and Zhejiang Province of the People's Republic of China ("PRC"). The Company has received but rejected multiple "going private" offers, or transactions in which a public company is converted into private ownership.
From the Company's inception until January 2018, Global Cord's largest shareholder was Golden Meditech Holdings Limited ("Golden Meditech" or "GMHL"), a medical device and hospital management company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and based in the PRC. Founded in 2001 by Defendant Yuen Kam ("Kam"), Golden Meditech was publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange until October 2020, when it was taken private by Kam.
Golden Meditech's previous financial interest in Global Cord is just one of the significant connections that have existed between the two companies during the relevant time. Global Cord and Golden Meditech also maintained the same registered address in Hong Kong, even occupying the same building floor. Defendants Kam, Ting Zheng ("Zheng"), and Bing Chuen (Albert) Chen ("Chen") also have significant additional business and/or personal ties to each other and to Global Cord and Golden Meditech, as further alleged in the Complaint.
In September 2016, Golden Meditech, in combination with The University of Texas at MD Anderson Cancer Center, announced the founding of Cellenkos Inc. ("Cellenkos"), a biotechnology company based in Houston that focuses on umbilical cord blood-derived T-regulatory cellular therapies.
On April 29, 2022, after the market closed, in a Form 6-K filed with the SEC, Global Cord announced that it had entered into a Material Definitive Agreement to acquire Cellenkos for over $1 billion, including $664 million in cash and 114 million Global Cord shares-roughly the same number of the Company's shares that were already outstanding (the "Transaction"). The Transaction thus stood to dilute the Company's shareholders by half and deplete its sizable cash balance.
On this news, Global Cord's stock price fell $0.98 per share, or 28.57%, from $3.43 at the close of trading on April 29, 2022, to close at $2.45 per share on May 2, 2022.
According to the filed complaint, the Transaction was rushed to completion in under three days from when Global Cord's Board was first notified of it, without the shareholder approval that would be expected-and was required-for such a momentous transaction. Further, it grossly overvalued Cellenkos, such as by assuming that all of its treatments would receive regulatory approval.
Global Cord's Directors approved the Transaction to benefit themselves and other Company insiders and related parties. The court in the Cayman Islands has criticized the role of Global Cord's Directors and management in the Transaction, stating (among other observations) that "it is impossible at this stage to discern any easily comprehensible commercial rationale for the Company, especially being a listed company, consummating and implementing an arrangement which was so financially and strategically significant with such a breath-taking combination of speed and stealth, particularly in circumstances where the Company was (as at April 29, 2022) under 'minority' rather than majority shareholder control."
On May 3, 2022, Blue Ocean Structure Investment Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nanjing Yingpeng, filed a Petition (the "Petition") in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, Financial Services Division, opposing the Transaction. Specifically, the Petition asserted that Cellenkos had no discernible long-term value, that the Transaction purchase price was unjustifiable, that the Transaction would result in a massive dilution of Global Cord shareholders, that the close relationship between Global Cord and Cellenkos constituted a conflict of interest, and that the Transaction was approved without sufficient shareholder knowledge.
On this news, Global Cord's stock price fell $0.22 per share, or 9.09%, to close at $2.20 per share on May 5, 2022.
On September 22, 2022, as a result of the actions described above and other misconduct by the Individual Defendants related to the Transaction, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands suspended the powers of Global Cord's Directors and appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators over the Company.
Following the appointment of the Joint Provisional Liquidators, the NYSE halted trading in Global Cord's ordinary shares, effective September 23, 2022.
Evidence that was presented to the Cayman Islands court, and that was investigated further and corroborated by the Joint Provisional Liquidators appointed by the Cayman court, shows that the Cellenkos Transaction was actually part of a cover-up aimed at "filling a gap" in Global Cord's balance sheet. It turns out that from September 2015 to May 2022, Global Cord made secret, undisclosed payments of approximately $606 million to entities related to Golden Meditech and controlled by Defendant Kam.
Kam and the Golden Meditech Defendants misappropriated even more of Global Cord's funds. The Joint Provisional Liquidators have been able to identify only approximately US$427,000 and HK$135,000 in Global Cord's bank accounts, as compared to the over $1 billion in cash that the Company reported before the Transaction was announced.
On June 22, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a Form 25 Notification of Removal from Listing and/or Registration Under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, stating: "Pursuant to 17 CFR 240.12d2-2(b), the Exchange has complied with its rules to strike the class of securities from listing and/or withdraw registration on the Exchange." The Company's shares continue to trade in the United States on the over-the-counter market and, as of April 22, 2024, are trading at $1.35 per share.
The complaint further 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) Global Cord employed a capital allocation strategy designed to reserve funds for Company insiders and related parties rather than for the benefit of Company shareholders; (ii) Global Cord's decisions to reject multiple going private offers and enter into the Transaction were nothing more than self-serving and conflicted attempts by Defendants to divert company funds to corporate insiders and related parties; (iii) Defendants had fundamentally misrepresented to investors Global Cord's approach to capital allocation, strategic investments, acquisitions, and related party transactions as a result of the misappropriation by Defendant Kam and his entities of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Company; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
For more information on the Global Cord class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CORBF
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC)
Class Period: November 4, 2020 - November 2, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 24, 2024
On November 2, 2022, after the market closed, Lincoln National released its third quarter 2022 financial results, reporting a net loss of $2.6 billion for the quarter. This was compared to a net income of $318 million for the third quarter of 2021 the previous year. The Company explained “[t]he current quarter’s adjusted operating results included net unfavorable notable items of $2.0 billion, or $11.62 per share, related to the company’s annual review of DAC and reserve assumptions.” The Company also disclosed that it “incurred a $634 million goodwill impairment to the life insurance business.”
On this news, Lincoln’s stock price fell $17.27, or 33.2%, to close at $34.83 per share on November 3, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.
The complaint filed in this class action 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, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company was experiencing a decline in its VUL business; (2) that, as a result, the goodwill associated with the life insurance business was overstated; (3) that, as a result, the Company’s policy lapse assumptions were outdated; (4) that, as a result, the Company’s reserves were overstated; (5) that, as a result, the Company’s reported financial results and financial statements were misstated; and (6) that, 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.
For more information on the Lincoln class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/LNC
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
