NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gainey McKenna & Egleston announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Leslie’s Inc. (“Leslie’s” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: LESL) securities between February 5, 2021 and July 13, 2023, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
The Complaint alleges Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (i) the Company’s growth was caused by customers over purchasing products to stockpile in case of a chemical shortage; (ii) such sales inflated revenues and earnings and were not indicative of durable and sustainable demand or financial growth; (iii) the Company took advantage of chemical shortages by urging customers to stock up on the products because Leslie’s could not “guarantee availability” of chemicals in the future; and (iv) any slowdown in sales was not a normalization of past seasonality, but was due to the prior excess stockpiling.
On July 13, 2023, Leslie’s pre-released preliminary results for the third quarter of 2023 revealing that sales in the third quarter of 2023 had declined by a staggering 12%, the Company’s earnings per share for the quarter was 42% below analysts’ estimates, and EBITDA was now between $124 to $128 million, well below the prior forecast of $197 million. Additionally, after reaffirming its fiscal 2023 guidance the previous two quarters, Leslie’s abruptly slashed its financial outlook by up to a staggering 60% for the remainder of the year. As an explanation, the Company revealed that “consumers entered the pool season with a greater than normal amount of chemicals leftover from last year,” resulting in reduced purchasing. In addition, as part of this pre-release and the sudden drop in guidance, Leslie’s announced that its Chief Financial Officer Steven M. Weddell would be stepping down from his post effective August 7, 2023.
On this news, Leslie’s stock price fell more than 29%, from a closing price of $9.52 per share on July 13, 2023, to a closing price of $6.70 per share on July 14, 2023, and continued to fall another 18% the next trading day to close at $5.46 per share on July 17, 2023.
Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of Leslie’s should contact the Firm prior to the November 7, 2023 lead plaintiff motion deadline. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish 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.
Please visit our website at http://www.gme-law.com for more information about the firm.
