NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2022 (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 Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT), and Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), and Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP). 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.
Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT)
Class Period: September 1, 2020 – September 20, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 12, 2022
On September 20, 2022, after the market closed, Schmitt announced that its previous financial statements “should no longer be relied upon” and would require restating, estimating that “the errors were cumulatively material, resulting in an understatement of $330,203 in expenses for the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
On this news, Schmitt stock fell $0.68, or 17.9%, to close at $3.12 per share on September 21, 2022, hurting investors.
According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Schmitt Industries continuously downplayed its serious issues with internal controls; (2) Schmitt Industries’ financial statements from August 31, 2021, to the present included “certain errors”; (3) as a result, Schmitt Industries would need to restate its previously filed financial statements for certain periods; and (4) 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.
For more information on the Schmitt class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SMIT
Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ)
Class Period: November 4, 2021 and April 4, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 12, 2022
Block, formerly known as Square, Inc., is a technology company that creates financial service tools. Block’s segments include Square, which offers financial tools for sellers, and Cash App, which provides financial tools for individuals.
On April 4, 2022, Block announced that a former employee had improperly downloaded certain reports of Block’s subsidiary, Cash App Investing, on December 10, 2021. The information in the reports included full customer names and brokerage account numbers, as well as portfolio value, brokerage portfolio holdings, and/or stock trading activity. As many as 8.2 million Cash App Investing customers were affected. Prior to April 4, 2022, Block had not disclosed this information to shareholders.
On this news, Block’s stock price fell by more than 6%, damaging investors.
The Block class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period failed to disclose that: (i) Block lacked adequate protocols restricting access to customer sensitive information; (ii) as a result, a former employee was able to download certain reports of Block’s subsidiary, Cash App investing, containing full customer names and brokerage account numbers, as well as brokerage portfolio value, brokerage portfolio holdings, and/or stock trading activity; and (iii) consequently, Block was reasonably likely to suffer significant damage including reputational harm.
For more information on the Block class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SQ
Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR)
Class Period: May 13, 2022 – October 4, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 12, 2022
On May 13, 2022, Elon Musk tweeted that a merger with Twitter was “temporarily on hold.” Three separate notices terminating the merger between July 8, 2022 and September 9, 2022 falsely claimed that Twitter had breached the terms of the merger agreement by not giving Musk documents about Spam.
On October 4, 2022, less than two weeks before he was set to go to trial in Delaware over the merger, Musk stated he would proceed with the Twitter buyout at the original $54.20 price, abandoning his prior positions and capitulating to Twitter. The announcement shocked the stock market and caused Twitter’s stock price to increase by 22%. Twitter stock and bondholders who sold their Twitter securities earlier in the year based on Musk’s false statements were damaged by selling at prices artificially depressed by Musk’s false statements.
The lawsuit charges that Musk violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false statements about his purchase of Twitter, Inc., including termination notices that falsely claimed that Twitter had breached terms of the merger agreement and that a Material Adverse Event (“MAE”) had occurred. The complaint alleges that Musk’s statements were false because Musk was not entitled to due diligence and had in fact waived due diligence; Musk was well aware of the problem of bots and spam on Twitter, and there were no legally justifiable reasons for Musk to terminate the Merger.
For more information on the Twitter class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TWTR
Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP)
Class Period: October 31, 2017 - November 18, 2018
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: December 20, 2022
Compass Minerals mines and produces essential minerals, including salt for winter roadway safety and other consumer, industrial, and agricultural uses, and specialty plant nutrition minerals that improve the quality and yield of crops. During the Class Period, Compass Minerals operated three business segments: the Salt segment, the Plant Nutrition North America segment, and the Plant Nutrition South America segment. Within the Salt segment, Compass Minerals operated the largest underground rock salt mine in the world in Goderich, Ontario, Canada, which Compass Minerals routinely hailed as the “crown jewel” of its asset portfolio. Prior to the start of the Class Period, defendants announced that Compass Minerals was investing in upgrades to the mining system at Goderich, from drilling-and-blasting to continuous mining and continuous haulage (“CMCH”), primarily in an effort to reduce costs and improve profitability.
The Compass Minerals class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period repeatedly assured investors that the CMCH upgrade at the Goderich mine was on track to materially reduce costs and boost Compass Minerals’ operating results starting in 2018. However, defendants’ statements were misleading because they failed to tell investors that costs at the Goderich mine were increasing rather than decreasing. The Compass Materials class action lawsuit further alleges that defendants also misrepresented the amount of salt Compass Minerals was able to produce at Goderich using the new CMCH equipment and failed to disclose how the known and ongoing production shortfalls it was experiencing were reasonably expected to reduce its future operating income.
On February 13, 2018, Compass Minerals announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. On the following day, Compass Minerals held an earnings call for analysts and investors to discuss the fourth quarter results.
On this news, Compass Minerals’ stock price declined by more than 9% over the following two trading days.
Then, on August 7, 2018, Compass Minerals announced its second quarter of fiscal 2018 results, attributing the decrease in Salt operating earnings to various costs overruns, unrelated to the CMCH transition.
On this news, the price of Compass Minerals stock declined by 4.3%.
Next, October 23, 2018, Compass Minerals pre-announced third quarter 2018 financial results that were significantly below expectations and lowered its outlook for the remainder of the year.
On this news, the price of Compass Minerals stock declined by more than 30% over the following two trading days.
Finally, on November 19, 2018, Compass Energy announced the abrupt termination of its CEO, defendant Francis J. Malecha.
On this news, the price of Compass Minerals stock declined by an additional 8% over the following three days, further damaging investors.
For more information on the Compass class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CMP
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.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
