According to the law firm press release, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. ("JCPenney" or the Company) is a retailer, operating 1,102 department stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico as of January 28, 2012. JCPenney's business consists of selling merchandise and services to consumers through its department stores and through its Website jcp.com. The Company sells family apparel and footwear, accessories, fine and fashion jewelry, beauty products through Sephora inside JCPenney, and home furnishings.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made 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 and/or misrepresented adverse facts, including that the Company would have insufficient liquidity to get through year-end and would require additional investments to make it through the holiday season, and that the Company was concealing its need for liquidity so as not to add to its vendors' concerns. As a result of Defendants' false statements, JCPenney's stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the class period, reaching a high of $14.47 per share on September 9, 2013.
Then, on September 27, 2013, JCPenney issued a press release announcing the pricing of 84.0 million shares of its common stock at $9.65 per share in a secondary offering, stating that "[t]he Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes." On this news, JCPenney shares declined $1.37 per share or 13%, to close at $9.05 per share on September 27, 2013.
On February 28, 2014, the Court issued an Order consolidating cases, appointing lead Plaintiff, and approving lead Counsel. Lead Plaintiff filed a consolidated Complaint on July 18.
The parties entered into a Settlement Agreement on June 14, 2017. This Settlement was preliminarily approved by the Court on July 24. On January 4, 2018, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement and entered Final Judgment.
