NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 21-cv-10468 is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired StoneCo securities between March 11, 2021 and November 16, 2021, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Plaintiff pursues claims against the Defendants under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).
If you are a shareholder who purchased StoneCo securities during the Class Period, you have until January 18, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
StoneCo is a provider of financial technology solutions. StoneCo’s services allow merchants and other vendors to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels, primarily in Brazil.
The 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, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that StoneCo was experiencing difficulties in implementing its credit product; (2) that StoneCo faced significant risks via its point-of-sale vendor, PAX Global Technology Ltd.; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company’s financial results would be adversely impacted; 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.
On August 30, 2021, after the market closed, StoneCo announced its second quarter 2021 financial results in a press release, reporting an 8.1% year-over-year decrease in revenue “mainly due to adjustments in credit fair value and significantly lower credit disbursements.” The Company stated that it had “implemented some prudent actions, like temporarily stopping the disbursement of credit and increasing coverage for potential future losses, which impacted [StoneCo’s] reported results for the quarter.”
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $2.96, to close at $46.54 per share on August 31, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.
Then, on October 26, 2021, PAX Global Technology Ltd’s Florida offices were raided by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and several other agencies as part of a federal investigation. As a Viceroy Research report on October 27, 2021 pointed out, StoneCo states that PAX “is no longer [its] sole provider of POS services, [but the Company is] still substantially dependent on it to manufacture and assemble a substantial amount of [its] POS devices.” Moreover, another company replaced its PAX terminals “because it did not receive satisfactory answers from PAX regarding its POS devices connecting to websites not listed in their supplied documentation.”
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $2.64, or 7%, to close at $33.81 per share on October 27, 2021, thereby injuring investors further.
Then, on November 16, 2021, StoneCo announced that it would “start retesting our original [credit] product, which is short-term loans, between the fourth quarter of ’21 and the first quarter of ’22.” The Company could not provide specific guidance about when credit volumes would return to levels before StoneCo had halted origination of credit.
On this news, the Company’s share price fell $10.96, or 34%, to close at $20.70 per share on November 17, 2021, thereby injuring investors further.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
