NEW YORK, Aug. 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gainey McKenna & Egleston announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Yelp Inc. ("Yelp" or the "Company") (NYSE:YELP) during the period between October 29, 2013 and April 3, 2014, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's true business and financial condition, including but not limited to the true nature of the so-called "firsthand" experiences and reviews appearing on the Company's website, the robustness of its processes and algorithms purportedly designed to screen unreliable reviews, and the Company's forecasted financial growth prospects and the extent to which they were reliant upon undisclosed business practices, including but not limited to requiring business customers to pay to suppress negative reviews. The Complaint alleges that Defendants' false and misleading statements during the Class Period caused the Company's stock to trade at artificially inflated prices, reaching a high of over $98.00 per share on March 4, 2014, and allowed Company insiders to sell more than 1.16 million shares of Yelp stock at prices as high as $98.99 per share for insider trading proceeds of more than $81.5 million.
According to the Complaint, as the true facts concerning the Company's business practices began to be revealed to the market through a series of articles and disclosures starting on March 31, 2014, the Company's stock price declined, falling from a close of $80.18 per share on April 1, 2014 to a close of $65.76 per share on April 4, 2014.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 6, 2014. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to join the litigation, or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Thomas J. McKenna, Esq. or Gregory M. Egleston, Esq. of Gainey McKenna & Egleston at (212) 983-1300, or via e-mail at tjmckenna@gme-law.com or gegleston@gme-law.com.
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