NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#A–Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against NewAge, Inc. (“NewAge” or the “Company”) (OTC: NBEVQ) in the United States District Court of Colorado on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired NewAge securities between January 18, 2018 and October 18, 2022, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Investors have until February 6, 2023 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
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On January 10, 2022, NewAge filed an 8-K announcing that the Board and Defendant Willis agreed that he would “resign as [CEO], Director, and employee of the Company, effective immediately. The Company and Mr. Willis will determine the terms of his departure at a future date. [. . .] Ed Brennan will provide additional guidance and direction to the senior management team [. . .].” In response, the stock went down 6% on each of the following trading days, from an opening price of $0.98 to a closing price of $0.9251 on January 11 and from an opening price of $0.935 to a closing price of $0.88 on January 12.
On May 17, 2022, the Company announced after trading hours had concluded that it had received a late notice from Nasdaq regarding the filing of its Form 10-Q. The next day, the stock went down by 8%, from an opening price of $0.391 per share to $0.3591 per share.
On June 8, 2022, after trading had concluded for the day, the Company announced that it was undertaking a review of “strategic alternatives,” including “available financing alternatives, a potential financial restructuring, merger, sale or other strategic transaction.” The next day, NewAge’s share price went down 12%, from $0.42 per share to $0.3703. Following that, the Company’s share price closed down 11% (the price per share dropped from $0.3605 to $0.3201 on the day), 5% (the price per share dropped from ($0.3112 per share to $0.2902 on the day), and 3% (the price per share dropped from $0.298 per share to $0.29 on the day), respectively.
On August 30, 2022, NewAge announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief. Further, On August 31, 2022, The Wall Street Journal released an article called “New Age Says Cost of Internal Probe Contributed to Bankruptcy,” which highlighted the fact that in its Chapter 11 disclosure, NewAge admitted that it had conducted an expensive internal investigation into Ariix for suspected violations of the FCPA. The next day, the stock closed down 39%, from an opening price of $0.2016 per share to $0.1222 per share. It further plummeted on September 2, 2022, closing down 27%, from an opening of $0.20 per share to $0.1482.
On September 2, 2022, after trading hours in the domestic markets had finished for the day, NewAge filed an 8-K announcing that it had received writing notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) that, as a result of its filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, Nasdaq determined that NewAge’s securities would be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange, beginning on September 8, 2022. In response to this news, NewAge stock closed down 9% on September 6, 2022, from an opening price of $0.1368 to a closing price of $0.125.
On October 18, 2022, the SEC announced that it was taking legal action against Defendant Willis. Specifically, he was alleged to have engaged in a “multi-year fraud by disseminating numerous false and misleading press releases and making false public statements concerning NewAge’s business dealings, and aided and abetted NewAge’s disclosure of material information in violation of Regulation FD,” and was accordingly charged under Section 10(b) and corresponding Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, and with aiding and abetting NewAge’s violations of Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Regulation FD.
On October 19, 2022, the SEC announced that it had instituted cease-and-desist proceedings against NewAge pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act and Section 21C of the Exchange Act, enjoining NewAge from further violations of the Securities and Exchange Acts, and rules and regulations promulgated under them. In anticipation of these proceedings, NewAge submitted a settlement offer, which the SEC has accepted. The next day, NewAge stock plummeted from an opening price of $0.175 per share to $0.0013 per share, or 93%.
The facts constituting scienter were not known to any reasonable investor until announcements of these SEC proceedings in October 2022.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired NewAge shares and suffered a loss, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at investigations@bespc.com, telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.
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.
Contacts
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com