Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Gritstone, Hertz, Fat Brands, and Scotts and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

/EIN News/ -- NEW YORK, July 13, 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 Gritstone bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRTS), Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ), FAT Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: FAT), and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG). 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.

Gritstone bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRTS)

Class Period: March 9, 2023 - February 29, 2024

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 6, 2024

Gritstone, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing vaccine-based immunotherapy candidates against cancer and infectious diseases.

In September 2023, Gritstone entered into a contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA") to run a 10,000 participant, randomized Phase 2b double-blinded study to compare the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate (a samRNA vaccine candidate) with an approved COVID-19 vaccine (the "Phase 2b CORAL Study" or the "Study").  In a press release announcing the Phase 2b CORAL Study, the Company stated that the contract "provides strong validation of [its] innovative vaccine platform in infectious diseases," that execution of the study would be fully funded by BARDA, and that the Study would be expected to launch in the first quarter of 2024.

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) the Company would be unable to launch the Phase 2b CORAL Study in the timeframe it had represented to investors; (ii) the foregoing would impair Gritstone's ability to obtain external funding in connection with the Study, thereby negatively affecting Gritstone's ability to maintain its balance sheet and cash position; (iii) accordingly, Gritstone overstated its ability to successfully develop and commercialize its products; (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On February 12, 2024, Gritstone issued a press release announcing that the Company was delaying the launch of the Study until Fall 2024 to purportedly "allow use of fully GMP-grade raw materials in the vaccine, which is expected to increase the regulatory utility of the trial."

Then, on February 29, 2024, Gritstone issued a press release "announc[ing] an approximately 40% reduction of its workforce", stating that "[t]he move comes following the recently announced delay of the proposed CORAL Phase 2b study, which resulted in Gritstone not receiving external funding it previously anticipated beginning in 1Q 2024, associated with the initiation of the study."

On this news, Gritstone's stock price fell $0.78 per share, or 27.86%, to close at $2.02 per share on March 1, 2024.

For more information on the Gritstone class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/GRTS

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ)

Class Period: April 27, 2023 - April 24, 2024

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 30, 2024

Hertz is a vehicle rental company that offers both internal combustion engine ("ICE") vehicle and electric vehicle ("EV") rental services from Company-operated, licensee, and franchisee locations across various countries. The Company also sells vehicles and value-added services.

With hundreds of thousands of vehicles in its rental fleet, accurately measuring vehicle depreciation—i.e., the decrease in value of the various vehicles in its fleet over time—is critical to Hertz's profitability.

In October 2021, Hertz announced that, "[a]s consumer interest in [EVs] skyrockets," the Company made "a significant investment to offer the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world[,]" including "an initial order of 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022 and new EV charging infrastructure across the company's global operations." The Company thereafter entered into multiple strategic partnerships with cities and others to promote its EV rental business, and concurrently continued to expand its EV fleet.

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) Hertz had downplayed the financial impact of vehicle depreciation, and/or overstated its ability to track and manage vehicle depreciation; (ii) demand for Hertz's EVs was not as strong as Defendants had led investors to believe; (iii) Hertz had too many vehicles, particularly EVs, in its fleet to remain profitable; (iv) as a result of all the foregoing, Hertz was likely to incur significant losses on the disposition of both its ICE vehicles and EVs; (v) all the foregoing was likely to, and did, have a significant negative impact on Hertz's financial results; and (vi) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On January 11, 2024, Hertz revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would sell approximately 20,000 EVs from its U.S. fleet, or about one-third of its global EV fleet, "to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs." According to the Company, this would "result in the recognition, during the fourth quarter of 2023, of approximately $245 million of incremental net depreciation expense related to the sale[,]" which "represents the write down of the EVs' carrying values as of December 31, 2023 to their fair values, less related expenses associated with the disposition of the vehicles." Hertz further advised that "Adjusted Corporate EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2023 will be negatively impacted by the incremental net depreciation expense associated with the EV sales plan, and further burdened by higher depreciation expense in the ordinary course as residual values for vehicles generally fell throughout the quarter greater than previously expected."

On this news, Hertz's stock price fell $0.40 per share, or 4.28%, to close at $8.95 per share on January 11, 2024.

On March 15, 2024, Hertz announced that Defendant Stephen M. Scherr ("Scherr") would resign from his roles as the Company's Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Chairman of the Board of Directors by the end of the month, and that the Company had appointed Wayne Gilbert West as its new CEO.

Then, on April 25, 2024, Hertz issued a press release announcing its first quarter 2024 results. Among other items, Hertz reported adjusted diluted earnings-per-share ("EPS") of -$1.28 for the quarter, well short of the consensus estimate of -$0.43, and far worse than the adjusted diluted EPS of $0.39 that the Company had achieved in the same period the year prior. In discussing these results, Hertz revealed that vehicle depreciation in the quarter increased $588 million, or $339 on a per-unit basis, primarily driven by deterioration in estimated forward residual values and disposition losses on ICE vehicles compared to gains in the prior-year quarter. The Company also disclosed that, of the $339 per unit increase, $119 was related to EVs held for sale. Moreover, Hertz reported a $195 million charge to vehicle depreciation to write down EVs held for sale that were remaining in inventory at quarter-end to fair value and to recognize the disposition losses on EVs sold in the period.

On this news, Hertz's stock price fell $1.12 per share, or 19.31%, to close at $4.68 per share on April 25, 2024.

For more information on the Hertz class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/HTZ

FAT Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: FAT)

Class Period: March 24, 2022 - May 10, 2024

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 6, 2024

According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) defendants failed to disclose that Andrew A. Wiederhorn, the Company’s Chairman and former CEO, had received improper payments from the Company, exposing FAT Brands to criminal liability; 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 Fat Brands class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/FAT

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG)

Class Period: November 3, 2021 - August 1, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 2, 2024

Scotts produces various lawn, garden, and agricultural products for both consumer and professional purposes. It is also the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. In 2014, Scotts formed a wholly owned subsidiary, The Hawthorne Gardening Company, which focuses on hydroponics for the emerging cannabis growing market. The Company sells a vast majority of its products through third-party distributors.

During the Class Period, Scotts was highly leveraged, with its senior secured credit facilities containing various restrictive covenants and cross-default provisions that require the Company maintain specific financial ratios. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default, enabling the Company’s lenders to declare all outstanding indebtedness immediately due and payable. A key covenant required that Scotts maintain a debt-to-EBITDA ratio under 6.25. In 2020 and 2021, prior to the beginning of the Class Period, Scotts had missed out on millions of dollars in sales due to a lack of inventory as it faced surging demand. In response to this strong demand, Scotts significantly increased its inventory.

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made numerous materially false and misleading statements and omissions concerning the Company’s inventory levels, debt covenant compliance, and financial performance. Specifically, Defendants repeatedly assured investors that the Company’s inventory levels were appropriate, while attributing strong sales to “selling through high-cost inventory,” which resulted in “peak selling” and “record” shipments. Defendants also repeatedly assuaged investors’ concerns about the Company’s debt, stating that they were “optimistic we will remain within the bounds of our bank covenants” and “[did] not see leverage compliance issues going forward.” As a result of these misrepresentations, Scotts common stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.

The complaint further alleges that in reality, Scotts’ executives engaged in a scheme to saturate the Company’s sales channels with more inventory than could be sold to end users. This scheme enabled Scotts to book as revenue the sales to its distributors and maintain earnings to debt ratios that just barely exceeded those required by its debt covenants.

The complaint further alleges that the truth began to emerge on June 8, 2022, when Scotts revealed that replenishment orders from its U.S. retailers were $300 million below target in the month of May alone. The Company also cut its 2022 full-year earnings guidance by roughly half and announced plans to take on additional debt to cover restructuring charges as it attempted to cut costs. These disclosures came mere weeks after the Company promised that it was “tracking to do even better” than its guidance. However, throughout the rest of the Class Period, Defendants continued to downplay the Company’s inventory and debt compliance issues.

Then, on August 2, 2023, Scotts revealed that quarterly sales for its fiscal third quarter had declined by 6% and gross margins fell by 420 basis points. The Company also slashed fiscal year EBITDA guidance by a staggering 25% and announced it had to take a $20 million write down for “pandemic driven excess inventories.” Scotts further disclosed that it had to modify its debt covenants from 6.25 times debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 7.00 times debt-to-EBITDA ratio. As a result of these disclosures, the price of Scotts common stock declined precipitously.

For more information on the Scotts class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SMG

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