Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Olaplex Holdings, Inc. and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and docketed under 22-cv-08395, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Olaplex common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s initial public offering conducted on or around September 30, 2021 (the “IPO” or “Offering”), seeking to recover compensable damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) (the “Class”).
If you are a shareholder who purchase or otherwise acquired Olaplex securities, you have until January 17, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
Olaplex was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. Olaplex manufactures and sells hair care products. The Company offers hair care shampoos and conditioners for use in treatment, maintenance, and protection of hair. Olaplex purports to participate in the “prestige segment” of the haircare market, which the Company claims is “expected to be the fastest growing segment of the global haircare market from 2020 to 2025.”
On August 27, 2021, Olaplex filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC in connection with the IPO, which, after several amendments, was declared effective by the SEC on September 29, 2021 (the “Registration Statement”).
On October 1, 2021, Olaplex filed a prospectus on Form 424B4 with the SEC in connection with the IPO, which incorporated and formed part of the Registration Statement (collectively, the “Offering Documents”).
Pursuant to the IPO, Olaplex issued 73,700,000 shares of its common stock to the public at the Offering price of $21.00 per share for approximate proceeds of $1,466,445,750 to the Company, after applicable underwriting discounts and commissions.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and was not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing its preparation. Specifically, the Offering Documents made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) macro-economic pressures and competition in the haircare market were more robust than the Company had represented to investors; (ii) accordingly, the Company was unlikely to maintain its sales and revenue momentum; and (iii) as a result, it was unlikely that the Company would be able to achieve the financial and operational growth projected in the Offering Documents; and (iv) as a result, the Offering Documents were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.
On September 29, 2022, a Piper Sandler analyst downgraded Olaplex to Neutral from Overweight, stating that her work revealed that “competition and misinformation pose growing risks to the company.” In addition, the analyst indicated that she anticipated investments in marketing and education were needed to offset the headwinds and that “little room for valuation upside given the risks at play.”
On this news, Olaplex’s stock price fell $1.33 per share, or 12.15%, to close at $9.62 per share on September 29, 2022.
Then, on October 18, 2022, Olaplex issued a press release in which “the Company revised its guidance for the 2022 fiscal year”. Olaplex said it now expects fiscal year 2022 revenue between $704 million and $711 million, significantly down from its prior guidance range of $796 million to $826M. Olaplex stated that “[t]he Company’s updated guidance primarily reflects a slowdown in sales momentum that it attributes to macro-economic pressures, increased competitive activity including discounting, and a moderation in new customer acquisition, as well as inventory rebalancing across certain customers which the Company believes are in response to these same macro-economic pressures.”
On this news, Olaplex’s stock price fell $5.55 per share, or 56.69%, to close at $4.24 per share on October 19, 2022.
As of the time this complaint was filed, the price of Olaplex common stock continues to trade below the Offering price of $21.00 per share, damaging investors.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980