Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against American Electric Power, OneSpan, Qutoutiao, and Vaxart and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

NEW YORK, Sept. 02, 2020 (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 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (“AEP”) (NYSE: AEP), OneSpan, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSPN), Qutoutiao, Inc. (NASDAQ: QTT), and Vaxart, Inc. (NASDAQ: VXRT). 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.

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (“AEP”) (NYSE: AEP)

Class Period: November 2, 2016 and July 24, 2020

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 19, 2020

On July 25, 2020, the Columbus Dispatch published an article titled “Columbus utility giant AEP funded dark money spending in HB 6 campaign,” reporting on the Company’s actions in connection with “campaigns now at the center of a racketeering and bribery case . . . .”

On this news, shares of AEP shares fell $4.79 per share, or over 5%, to close at $83.26 per share on July 27, 2020, the next trading day.

The complaint, filed on August 20, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company covertly participated in the “the largest public corruption case in Ohio history”; (2) the Company secretly funneled substantial funds to Ohio political organizations and politicians to bribe politicians to pass Ohio House Bill 6, which benefitted the Company and its coal-fired generation assets; (3) the Company partially funded a massive, misleading advertising campaign in support of HB6 and in opposition to a ballot initiative to repeal HB6 by passing substantial sums through a web of dark money entities and front companies in order to conceal the Company’s involvement; (4) the Company aided in subverting a citizens’ ballot initiative to repeal HB6; (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ Class Period statements regarding the Company’s regulatory and legislative efforts were materially false and misleading; (6) as a result of the foregoing, the Company would face increased scrutiny; (7) the Company was subject to undisclosed risk of reputational, legal and financial harm; (8) the bribery scheme would jeopardize the benefits the Company sought by HB6; (9) as opposed to the Company’s repeated public statements regarding a move to clean energy, it sought a dirty energy bailout; (10) as opposed to the Company’s repeated public statements regarding protection of its customers’ interests, the Company sought an extra and state-mandated surcharge on its customers’ bills; and (11) as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

For more information on the AEP securities class action case go to: https://bespc.com/AEP

OneSpan, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSPN)

Class Period: May 9, 2018 and August 11, 2020

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 19, 2020

On August 4, 2020, OneSpan postponed its second-quarter 2020 earnings release and conference call by one week, attributing the delay to prior period revenue recognition problems relating to certain software license contracts spread out over the quarters from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2020.  OneSpan further stated that “[t]he net contract assets that originated from a portion of these contracts in prior periods were not properly accounted for in subsequent periods, which caused overstatements of revenue.” 

On this news, the Company’s common share price fell $0.46 per share, or 1.40%, to close at $32.50 per share on August 4, 2020.

Then, on August 11, 2020, OneSpan disclosed that it would not timely file its quarterly report for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, with the SEC; reported that same quarter year-over-year revenues had declined; and withdrew its full-year 2020 earnings guidance, which the Company had affirmed one quarter earlier. 

On this news, the Company’s common share price fell $12.36 per share, or 39.62%, to close at $18.84 per share on August 12, 2020.

The complaint, filed on August 20, 2020, alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) OneSpan had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (ii) as a result, OneSpan overstated its revenue relating to certain contracts with customers involving software licenses in its financial statements spread out over the quarters from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2020; (iii) as a result, it was foreseeably likely that the Company would eventually have to delay one or more scheduled earnings releases, conference calls, and/or financial filings with the SEC; (iv) OneSpan downplayed the negative impacts of errors in its financial statements; (v) all the foregoing, once revealed, was foreseeably likely to have a material negative impact on the Company’s financial results and reputation; and (vi) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

For more information on the OneSpan securities class action go to: https://bespc.com/OSPN

Qutoutiao, Inc. (NASDAQ: QTT)

Class Period: Securities purchased (a) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s September 2018 initial public offering (“IPO”); and/or (b) between September 14, 2018 and July 15, 2020, inclusive (the “Class Period”)

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 19, 2020

In September 2018, the Company completed its IPO, selling 13.8 million ADSs at $7.00 per share.

On December 10, 2019, Wolfpack Research published a report, alleging among other things, that the Company had overstated its revenues by recording non-existent advances from advertising customers. Moreover, the report alleged that Qutoutiao replaced its third-party advertising agent with a related party, thereby bypassing the agent’s oversight and allowing the Company to “perpetrate the unmitigated ad fraud that [Wolfpack] observed in [its] sample.”

On this news, the Company’s share price fell $0.12, or nearly 4%, to close at $2.86 per share on December 11, 2019.

On July 15, 2020, hosts of a consumer rights gala stated that Qutoutiao had allowed ads on its platform promoting exaggerated or impossible claims from weight-loss products. For example, one such ad offered free weight-loss products valued at $14,300 that would help users lose more than 30 pounds a month.

On this news, the Company’s share price fell $0.85, or 23%, to close at $2.84 per share on July 16, 2020.

The complaint, filed on August 20, 2020, alleges that 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 Qutoutiao replaced its advertising agent with a related party, thereby bypassing third-party oversight of the content and quality of the advertisements; (2) that the Company placed advertisements on its mobile app for products whose claims could not be substantiated and thus were considered false advertisements under applicable regulations; (3) that, as a result, the Company would face increasing regulatory scrutiny and reputational harm; (4) that, as a result, the Company’s advertising revenue was reasonably likely to decline; and (5) 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.

For more information on the Qutoutiao class action go to: https://bespc.com/QTT

Vaxart, Inc. (NADSAQ: VXRT)

Class Period: June 25, 2020 and July 25, 2020

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 23, 2020

The class action arises from defendants’ alleged fraudulent scheme to profit from artificially inflating the Company’s stock price by announcing false and misleading information concerning Vaxart’s oral COVID-19 vaccine candidate, including its purported involvement in the government funded “Operation Warp Speed.”

In furtherance of the scheme, defendants amended controlling shareholder Armistice Capital LLC’s existing warrant agreements, allowing Armistice to exercise all of its warrants immediately and sell 27.6 million Vaxart shares, reaping profits of approximately $200 million. Defendants also issued millions of dollars in favorable stock options to Vaxart’s most senior executives.

On July 25, 2020, details emerged revealing defendants’ deception concerning their alleged pump and dump scheme. In particular, on July 25, 2020, The New York Times published an article entitled, “Corporate Insiders Pocket $1 Billion in Rush for Coronavirus Vaccine,” covering suspiciously timed stock bets that had generated significant profits for senior executives and board members at companies developing vaccines and treatments. Vaxart was featured prominently in the article, and it clarified “Vaxart is not among the companies selected to receive significant financial support from Warp Speed.”

On this news, the price of Vaxart shares declined significantly on July 27, 2020 from $12.29 per share to $11.16 per share.

The complaint, filed on August 24, 2020, alleges that during the Class Period, defendants engaged in a scheme to deceive the market and a course of conduct that artificially inflated the prices of Vaxart’s securities and operated as a fraud or deceit on Class Period purchasers of Vaxart’s securities by failing to disclose to investors that the Company’s financial results were materially misleading and misrepresented material information. When defendants’ misrepresentations and fraudulent conduct were disclosed and became apparent to the market, the prices of Vaxart’s securities fell precipitously as the prior inflation came out of the Company’s stock price.

For more information on the Vaxart class action go to: https://bespc.com/VXRT

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. 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. 

Contact Information:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
[email protected]
www.bespc.com

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