NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / Februray 14, 2020 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Qudian Inc. ("Qudian" or the "Company") (NYSE:QD) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and indexed under 20-cv-00577, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Qudian securities between December 13, 2018 and January 15, 2020, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Qudian securities during the class period, you have until March 23, 2020, 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 [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
Qudian was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Xiamen, the People's Republic of China ("China"). Qudian provides online small consumer credit products in China, using big data-enabled technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning to purportedly transform the consumer finance experience.
Qudian offers small credit products, such as cash credit products; merchandise credit products to finance borrowers' direct purchase of merchandise offered on its marketplace on installment basis; and budget auto financing products. In addition, it operates a platform for loan recommendations and referrals.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) regulatory developments in China threatened to negatively impact Qudian's fiscal full year 2019 ("FY19") financial results; (ii) Qudian's business was unprepared to mitigate the risks associated with these regulatory changes; (iii) as a result, Qudian's loan portfolio was plagued by growing delinquency rates; (iv) all of the foregoing made Qudian's repeated assertions concerning its FY19 financial guidance unrealistic; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On January 16, 2020, Qudian issued a press release announcing "that the Company withdraws its fiscal 2019 guidance and will not issue guidance in the near term due to uncertainty related to the recent regulatory and operating environment." The press release stated that "China's online consumer finance industry was affected by several regulatory developments in the fourth quarter of 2019, including further restrictions on loan collection practices, more stringent user data privacy rules and the requirements for P2P lending platforms to orderly exit their P2P businesses," which had "reduced the availability of funding for consumer credit and driven up delinquency rates across the industry, including the Company's loan portfolio."
On this news, Qudian's ADS price fell $0.84 per share, or 19.13%, to close at $3.55 per share on January 16, 2020.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, 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, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm 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.pomerantzlaw.com
SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP