NEW YORK, June 19, 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 Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE: TDS), Stem, Inc. (NYSE: STEM), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), and Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL). 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.
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE: TDS)
Class Period: May 6, 2022 – November 3, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 3, 2023
The complaint alleges, in part, that TDS and its subsidiary, United States Cellular Corporation ("UScellular"), made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Defendants had no reason to believe UScellular's "free upgrade" promotional activity, which was tested and trialed during the second quarter of 2022, was effective at reducing the UScellular's postpaid churn rate as they represented to investors, as opposed to merely adding new postpaid subscribers, when its churn rate was actually increasing or remaining constant over most quarters in the class period; (ii) UScellular was not making progress with respect to its churn rate, as it represented to investors; (iii) UScellular was not in fact balancing its promotional activity and its profitability; (iv) due to extreme competition among postpaid carriers, UScellular did not have the flexibility to offset the costs from widespread, expensive promotions with price increases; and (v) as a result of the Companies' decision for UScellular to continue engaging in heavy promotions to address its postpaid subscriber churn rate despite any lack of positive impact on churn rate, UScellular's profitability substantially declined.
For more information on the Telephone and Data Systems class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/TDS
Stem, Inc. (NYSE: STEM)
Class Period: March 4, 2021 – February 16, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 11, 2023
The Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation. Additionally, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, the Offering Documents and Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Legacy Stem suffered from material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting related to accounting for deferred cost of goods sold and inventory, certain revenue recognition calculations, and internal-use capitalized software calculations; (ii) the Company had overstated Legacy Stem’s and its own post-Merger business and financial prospects; (iii) Stem’s software revenue did not make up 100% of the Company’s services revenue; (iv) Stem had overstated the benefits expected to flow from its AP partnership; and (v) as a result, the Offering Documents and Defendants’ public statements throughout the Class Period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.
For more information on the Stem class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/STEM
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)
Class Period: December 10, 2020 – November 8, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 11, 2023
As the Disney class action lawsuit alleges, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Disney+ was suffering decelerating subscriber growth, losses, and cost overruns; (ii) the true costs incurred in connection with Disney+ had been concealed by Disney executives by debuting certain content intended for Disney+ initially on Disney’s legacy distribution channels and then making the shows available on Disney+ thereafter to improperly shift costs out of the Disney+ segment; (iii) Disney had made platform distribution decisions based not on consumer preference, consumer behavior, or the desire to maximize the size of the audience for the content as represented, but based on the desire to hide the full costs of building Disney+’s content library; and (iv) Disney was not on track to achieve even the reduced 2024 Disney+ paid global subscriber and profitability targets, such targets were not achievable, and such estimates lacked a reasonable basis in fact.
On November 8, 2022, Disney reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year end October 1, 2022, missing analyst estimates by wide margins on both the top and bottom lines. Specifically, Disney’s DTC segment reported a monumental operating loss of $1.47 billion compared to a $630 million loss in the same quarter the prior year while revenue in the segment increased just 8% to $4.9 billion. Disney also reported a decline in its average revenue per Disney+ subscriber, as more customers subscribed through a discounted bundle with Disney’s other services. Notably, the bundled offering made up about 40% of domestic subscribers, confirming that Disney was relying on short-term promotional efforts to boost subscriber growth while impairing Disney +’s long-term profitability. On this news, the price of Disney common stock declined more than 13%.
For more information on the Disney class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/DIS
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL)
Class Period: May 5, 2020 – February 21, 2023
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 18, 2023
On February 22, 2023, before the market opened, Charles River revealed that it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) relating to an ongoing investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) into the supply chain and illegal importation of non-human primates for research. The Company noted that it was voluntarily suspending shipments of primates from Cambodia, which would negatively impact its earnings for the year and would reduce revenue growth by 200 basis points to 400 basis points.
On this news, Charles River’s stock price fell $24.51, or 10%, to close at $219.09 per share on February 22, 2023, 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 Charles River had engaged in illegal activity with respect to its importation of non-human primates for research; (2) that, as a result, Charles River was at a heightened risk of criminal and regulatory investigation by, inter alia, the U.S. Department of Justice; (3) that, as a result, Charles River would be forced to suspend shipments of primates from Cambodia; and (4) 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 Charles River class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/CRL
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
