| COMPANY |
WM Technology, Inc. |
| COURT |
United States District Court for the Central District of California |
| CASE NUMBER |
24-cv-08959 |
| JUDGE |
The Hon. Otis D. Wright II |
| CLASS PERIOD |
May 25, 2021, through September 24, 2024 |
| SECURITY TYPE |
Securities |
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 16, 2024.
If you have suffered losses and would like to discuss your rights, please fill out this form or you may contact Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via e-mail at info@ktmc.com.
Case Background:
On August 9, 2022, WM announced its second quarter 2024 financial results and revealed that the company’s Board of Directors had received an internal complaint regarding the calculation, definition, and reporting of its monthly average users (“MAUs”) - a key financial metric for WM that it reported in its public filings with the SEC. According to WM, 65% of the company’s MAUs as of June 30, 2022, 54% of the company’s MAUs as of March 31, 2022, 50% of the company’s MAUs as of December 31, 2021, and 54% of the company’s MAUs as of September 30, 2021, were users who were “directed to weedmaps.com via pop-under advertisements” and “close[d] the site without clicking on any links.” On this news, the price of WM Class A common stock declined $0.87 per share, or more than 25%, from a close of $3.46 per share on August 9, 2022, to close at $2.59 per share on August 10, 2022.
On September 24, 2024, the SEC announced that it had charged the company, Defendant Christopher Beals, the company’s former Chief Executive Officer, and Defendant Arden Lee, the company’s former Chief Financial Officer, “for making negligent misrepresentations” in reporting the company’s MAUs dating back to the Merger. According to the SEC complaint, WM determined its MAUs by counting the “total number of users that had ‘engaged with’ the [WM] site in a given period” and that a “large and increasing percentage of the users” counted by WM toward its MAUs were directed to WM’s website from a third-party site, meaning that users “did not volitionally seek out the [WM] site” or “click on any links or engage in measurable activity” on the site. The SEC further alleged that “despite the publicly reported growth in MAU, [WM]'s user engagement metrics were stagnant or declining.” WM agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million to settle this matter with the SEC. On this news, the price of WM Class A common stock declined $0.018 per share, or approximately 2%, from a close of $0.938 per share on September 24, 2024, to close at $0.920 per share on September 25, 2024.
The complaint alleges that, during 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 misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) WM’s MAUs was severely inflated for years; and (2) as a result, Defendants’ statements about the company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
What is a Lead Plaintiff?
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Filling out the online form above or communicating with any counsel is not necessary to participate or share in any recovery achieved in this case. Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.