Herman Jones LLP is Investigating Claims for National Vision Holdings’ Shareholders Who May Have Been Harmed by the Company’s Failure to Disclose Business Headwinds
On January 27, 2023, a lawsuit, styled City of Southfield General Employees’ Retirement System v. National Vision Holdings, Inc. et al. (Case No. 1:23-cv-00425), was filed in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia against National Vision Holdings, Inc. (“National Vision Holdings” or the “Company”) and certain of its senior officers and directors for violations of the Securities Act of 1934 in relation to statements regarding its vision care business. According to the Plaintiff’s Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws (the “Complaint”), from May 13, 2021 through May 9, 2022 (the “Class Period”), National Vision Holdings made repeated false and/or misleading statements to the market concerning its operational success and business prospects, claiming that the Company was skillfully navigating the pandemic and that it had largely avoided the labor disruptions that were then impacting other retailers.
According to the Complaint, unbeknownst to investors, the Company, throughout the Class Period, failed to disclose that: (i) National Vision Holdings was experiencing extraordinary wage and labor pressures as a result of intense competition and disruptions in the labor market due to the COVID-19 pandemic; (ii) National Vision Holdings had made a significant multi-million dollar investment in wage and compensation payments to its vision care professionals to prevent mass defections in the middle of 2021; (iii) the enhanced payouts were expected to negatively impact National Vision’s fourth quarter 2021 costs and profit margins to an extent materially greater than what had been disclosed to investors; (iv) as a result, National Vision’s profitability metrics were expected to deteriorate below pre-pandemic levels; and (v) there was a substantial undisclosed risk that National Vision Holdings would experience staff and optometrist shortages and capacity constraints. Further, the Company failed to disclose that: (i) National Vision Holdings had suffered a severe optometrist shortage in the first quarter of 2022; (ii) the lack of sufficient optometrists to meet customer demand had created severe exam capacity constraint; (iii) as a result, National Vision Holdings suffered from a decline in net revenue and adjusted comparable store sales during the first quarter of 2022; and (iv) consequently, National Vision Holdings’ 2022 financial outlook was materially false and misleading and lacked a reasonable factual basis. The Complaint further contends that, during the time that the Company made false and/or misleading statements described above, the officer and director defendants to the lawsuit, who had access to nonpublic information that revealed the true condition of the Company’s business and prospects, sold shares of National Vision Holdings at a near-all time highs shortly before the truth was revealed to the public and the bad news caused the Company’s stock price to plummet.
Herman Jones LLP (www.hermanjones.com) is investigating potential claims of shareholders of National Vision Holdings who may have been harmed by the actions of the Company’s officers and directors.
Herman Jones LLP (www.hermanjones.com) also is investigating potential claims on behalf of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE) against certain of its officers and directors relating to the allegations set forth in the lawsuit.
IF YOU HAVE CONTINUOUSLY OWNED NATIONAL VISION HOLDINGS SHARES SINCE MAY 2021 AND WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVED, PLEASE CONTACT HERMAN JONES LLP AT THE CONTACT INFORMATION BELOW.
IF YOU ARE A CURRENT SHAREHOLDER OF NATIONAL VISION HOLDINGS SHARES, AND HAVE CONTINUOUSLY HELD SINCE AT LEAST MAY 2021, you may have standing to hold National Vision Holdings, Inc. harmless from the alleged harm caused by the Company’s officers and directors by making them personally responsible. You may also be able to assist in reforming the Company’s corporate governance to assure compliance and prevent future wrongdoing.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION, PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE INFORMATION BELOW. IF EMAILING, PLEASE INCLUDE A PHONE NUMBER.
ABOUT HERMAN JONES LLP:
Herman Jones LLP (www.hermanjones.com) is a nationally recognized high stakes litigation law firm with offices in Atlanta, Newark and Seattle. Herman Jones LLP represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, in addition to antitrust, intellectual property, consumer class actions and venture fund transactional work. Herman Jones LLP regularly assists clients in recovering losses resulting from violations of federal securities laws. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit https://www.hermanjones.com. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
John Herman
Herman Jones LLP
+1 404-504-6500
hjadmin@hermanjones.com
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