SMG - Bragar Eagel & Squire P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Hertz Humana Fat Brands and Scotts and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm | Benzinga
NEW YORK, June 30, 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 Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTZ), Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM), 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.
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 ...