Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased adidas AG (“adidas” or the “Company”) (OTC: ADDYY, ADDDF) securities between May 3, 2018 and February 21, 2023, inclusive (the “Class Period”). adidas investors have until June 27, 2023 to file a lead plaintiff motion.
Investors suffering losses on their adidas investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com.
On November 27, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that adidas’s senior leadership had discussed the risks of continuing a relationship with Kanye West as far back as 2018. On this news, ADDYY fell $2.02, or 3.1%, to close at $62.34 per share, while ADDDF fell $0.81, or 1%, to close at $126.44 per share on November 28, 2022, thereby injuring investors.
Then, on February 9, 2023, adidas stated that it expected sales to fall at a high single-digit rate in currency-neutral terms because of the “significant adverse impact of not selling the existing stock” of Yeezy products and that failure to sell the stock of Yeezy would lower Company revenue by 1.2 billion euros (or about $1.29 billion), and operating profit by 500 million euros. On this news, ADDYY fell $7.40, or 9%, to close at $75.16, while ADDDF fell $21.83, or 13.2%, to close at $143.23 per share on February 9, 2023.
Then, on February 21, 2023, S&P Global announced that it was downgrading adidas in part because of the impact of adidas terminating its relationship with Kanye West. On this news, ADDYY fell $3.56, or 4.6%, to close at $73.59, while ADDDF fell $4.85, or 3.2%, thereby injuring investors further.
The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, 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 that: (1) In addition to other misconduct, Kanye West made anti-Semitic comments in front of adidas staff, and even suggested naming an album after Adolf Hitler; (2) adidas was aware of his behavior, and failed to warn investors that it was aware of that behavior, and had considered ending the Partnership as a result of it; (3) adidas failed to take meaningful precautionary measures to limit negative financial exposure if the Partnership were to end as a result of West’s behavior; (4) adidas overstated the risk mitigation measures it took with regard to Yeezy shoes in the event that it terminated the Partnership; and (5) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
If you purchased adidas securities, have information or 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 Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020, by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.
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