NEW YORK, April 28, 2023 (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 Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR), Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE: FIS), and Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH). 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.
Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR)
Class Period: April 1, 2022 - August 8, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 12, 2023
Vertex Energy is an energy company focused on the production and distribution of conventional and alternative fuels. In early 2021, Vertex Energy announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire an oil refinery located in Mobile, Alabama and a key component of the acquisition was Vertex Energy’s plan to convert a portion of the refinery’s 91,000 barrel-per-day output to renewable diesel fuel, which was expected to generate higher profits than the refinery’s conventional gasoline and diesel fuel outputs.
But as the Vertex Energy class action lawsuit alleges, unbeknownst to investors, immediately prior to the closing of the Mobile acquisition, defendants had entered into, or were a party to, a series of transactions that dramatically capped the new plant’s profitability and would, in fact, lead to significant losses immediately following the acquisition. These transactions, which in some instances were required pursuant to the financing arrangements Vertex Energy had entered into, resulted in over $125 million in losses during the Class Period.
On August 9, 2022, Vertex Energy disclosed a net loss of $63.8 million during the second quarter of 2022. Vertex Energy also revealed that adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) for the Mobile refinery, even after adjusting for certain incurred losses, was only $63.6 million, compared to the guidance given just three months prior for EBITDA of $120-$130 million in the second quarter, a total shortfall of 50%. Vertex Energy also withdrew its financial guidance for the remainder of fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023. On this news, the price of Vertex Energy common stock fell by approximately 44%, damaging investors. The stock price continued to fall in subsequent days as the market digested the news, reaching a low of just $7.05 per share on August 11, 2022, roughly 50% below the closing price on August 8, 2022.
For more information on the Vertex Energy class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/VTNR
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE: FIS)
Class Period: February 9, 2021 - February 10, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 5, 2023
Fidelity National provides global e-commerce and payment technologies to financial institutions and businesses and, in recent years, has become the largest processing and payments company in the world. The Company is most known for its development of Financial Technology, or FinTech, and offers its solutions in three primary segments: Merchant Solutions; Banking Solutions; and Capital Market Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment accounted for approximately 30% of the Company’s total revenue in 2021, and serves merchants by enabling them to accept, authorize, and settle electronic payment transactions.
Throughout its history, Fidelity National has acquired several other financial technology firms. Relevant to the allegations here, on July 31, 2019, Fidelity National announced it had closed the acquisition of payments company Worldpay, Inc. (“Worldpay”) for $43 billion, consisting of $35 billion in cash and the assumption of $8 billion in debt. As a result of the acquisition, the Worldpay business became part of the Merchant Solutions segment.
During the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements about Fidelity National’s latest acquisition of Worldpay by assuring investors it had “successfully completed the Worldpay integration” and touting the benefits of the Worldpay integration for the Company. As a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects during the Class Period were materially false and /or misleading.
Investors slowly learned that the Company’s important Merchant Solutions segment was underperforming and that the Company’s integration of Worldpay was not “successfully completed.”
First, on August 4, 2022, Fidelity National announced that its Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), James Woodall, planned to “step down” as Corporate Executive Vice President and CFO effective November 4, 2022. On this news, the price of Fidelity National stock fell more than 7%, from a closing price of $104.13 per share on August 3, 2022 to a closing price of $96.57 per share on August 4, 2022.
Other management changes soon followed. On October 18, 2022, the Company announced that Stephanie Ferris, who was appointed President of the Company in February and had served as the CFO of Worldpay, would become the new Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) effective January 1, 2023. The Company also announced that that the outgoing CEO, Gary Norcross, who had been with the Company since 1988 and in the CEO role since 2015, would become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors upon the transition.
Then, on November 3, 2022, Fidelity National reported that its Merchant Solutions segment – namely Worldpay – suffered a “margin contraction of 430 basis points.” In response to this news, the price of Fidelity National stock declined more than 29%, from a closing price of $79.47 per share on November 2, 2022, to a closing price of $57.18 per share on November 3, 2022. Analysts reported the new Fidelity National management “recognize[d] the need to rebuild investor confidence.”
Finally, before markets opened on February 13, 2023, Fidelity National announced it would spin off Worldpay, and in the process, the Company recognized a stunning $17.6 billion write-down on the asset. In response to this revelation, the price of Fidelity National stock fell more than 12%, from a closing price of $75.43 per share on the prior trading day of February 10, 2023, to a closing price of $66.00 per share on February 13, 2023.
As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and misleading statements, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages.
For more information on the Fidelity National class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/FIS
Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH)
Class Period: November 3, 2021 - January 31, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 5, 2023
Match is a technology and social media company that operates one of the world’s largest portfolios of online dating brands and apps. Match’s most notable dating apps include Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and PlentyOfFish. Tinder, which generated more than half of Match’s revenue during the Class Period, is Match’s largest and most important brand.
The Class Period begins on November 3, 2021, to coincide with Match’s announcement of its third quarter 2021 financial results after the market closed on November 2, 2021. In a letter to shareholders, Defendants touted Tinder’s “radical product transformation,” which included recently launched product initiatives such as a new “Explore” feature. Defendants further stated that “[t]he interactive and social experiences within Explore are the harbinger for Tinder’s long-term vision,” and noted that Tinder was working on several other monetization opportunities, such as an in-app virtual currency.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants continued to represent that Tinder was effectively executing on several critical product initiatives that would drive growth for the Company in 2022 and beyond. For example, as recently as May 2022, Defendants assured investors that Tinder was “on track” with these product initiatives and “on schedule with what [Tinder] planned to deliver in 2022.”
Investors began to learn the truth on August 2, 2022, when the Company announced financial results for the second quarter of 2022 and warned that it expected Tinder’s growth to slow in the second half of 2022 as the result of poor product execution. Specifically, Defendants admitted that “Tinder did not deliver on its product roadmap for the first half of the year,” forcing the Company to delay the launch of several initiatives and optimizations that it had previously expected to generate growth in 2022.
On this news, the price of Match common stock declined $13.47 per share, or more than 17%, from a close of $76.71 per share on August 2, 2022, to close at $63.24 per share on August 3, 2022.
Despite these revelations, Defendants continued to assure investors that the Company had revamped the Tinder team and that the new team was successfully executing on the initiatives. For example, on November 1, 2022, Defendants assured investors that Tinder’s “[p]roduct execution is already improving” and that “early results are showing promise.”
However, on January 31, 2023, the Company reported disappointing financial results for 2022, including total revenue that missed the Company’s prior guidance. Defendants largely attributed the shortfall to “weaker-than-expected product execution at Tinder, the effects of which became more pronounced as the year progressed.” During an earnings conference call the following day, Defendants further admitted that Tinder had “decelerated as the year went on.”
On this news, the price of Match common stock declined $2.71 per share, or 5%, from a close of $54.12 per share on January 31, 2023, to close at $51.41 per share on February 1, 2023.
This Complaint 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 and operations. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company was not effectively executing on Tinder’s new product initiatives; (2) as a result, the Company was not on track to deliver Tinder’s planned product initiatives in 2022; and (3) therefore, Defendants’ statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis.
As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the significant decline in the market value of the Company’s common stock when the truth was revealed, Plaintiff and other members of the Class (defined below) have suffered significant damages.
For more information on the Match class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/MTCH
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
