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SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Lowey Dannenberg, P.C., Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Skillz Inc. (SKLZ) and Encourages Investors With More Than $100,000 in Losses to Contact the Firm

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Lowey Dannenberg, P.C.
·3 min read
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NEW YORK, May 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lowey Dannenberg P.C., a preeminent law firm in obtaining redress for consumers and investors, is investigating claims of violations of federal securities laws on behalf of investors of Skillz Inc. (“Skillz” or the “Company”) (NYSE: SKLZ). If you are a shareholder of Skillz with more than $100,000 in losses, you should contact the Firm.

Skillz operates as a mobile games platform. The Company helps developers build franchises by enabling social competition in their games and other casual e-sport tournaments for players.

On March 8, 2021, Wolfpack Research (“Wolfpack”) published a report entitled “Skillz: It Takes Little Skill to See This Spectacular Disaster Coming.” The Wolfpack report described Skillz as “another SPAC preying on retail investors by obtaining a ridiculous valuation for the SPAC merger based on self-serving projections.” Among other issues, the Wolfpack report alleges that Skillz’ top three games, which represent 88% of its revenues, had already plateaued by the third quarter of 2020. The Wolfpack research accuses Skillz of having a history of announcing big deals and partnerships that have “historically amounted to very little, or nothing at all.” As an example, Wolfpack research pointed to the Skillz recent announcement of its partnership with the NFL that pumped Skillz shares to its all-time highs only days before the Company filed an S-1 Form, allowing insiders to sell millions of shares of stock at inflated prices.

On this news, Skillz stock price fell sharply from $28.59 per share, or over 14%, to close at $24.45 per share on March 8, 2021.

On May 7, 2021, Lowey Dannenberg filed a class action lawsuit against Skillz and several of its officers in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, on behalf of investors who acquired the Company’s common stock. The Complaint alleges that Defendants, throughout the Class Period, made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) three games responsible for a majority of Skillz’s revenues had declined substantially; (ii) Skillz’s revenue recognition policy misrepresented the financial condition of the company; (iii) unrealistic market growth, specifically in the Android market; and (iv) as a result, defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

If you are a shareholder of Skillz who purchased Skillz securities between December 16, 2020 and April 19, 2021, inclusive, you have until July 7, 2021 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. To participate, learn more, or discuss the issues surrounding the investigation, please contact our attorneys at (914) 733-7256 or via email at investigations@lowey.com.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Skillz should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC.

About Lowey Dannenberg

Lowey Dannenberg is a national firm representing institutional and individual investors, who suffered financial losses resulting from corporate fraud and malfeasance in violation of federal securities and antitrust laws. The firm has significant experience in prosecuting multi-million-dollar lawsuits and has previously recovered billions of dollars on behalf of investors.

Contact

Lowey Dannenberg P.C.
44 South Broadway, Suite 1100
White Plains, NY 10601
Tel: (914) 733-7256
Email: investigations@lowey.com


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    (Bloomberg) -- The global rout in commodities spread to China, with futures for iron ore to coal to soybeans tumbling, as markets were gripped by inflation fears and authorities in Beijing continued to try to jawbone prices lower.Chinese exchanges saw some brutal declines, particularly in ferrous markets, with iron ore dropping as much as 7.6% and steel rebar falling 5.6%. Coking coal, used to make steel, plunged 7.5%, and soybeans slumped almost 3%.The widespread declines followed a market meltdown in the U.S., where everything from equities to cryptos to raw materials plunged. The slump comes on the heels of a huge surge in commodities markets, both globally and in China, after talk of a new “supercycle” pushed prices to unprecedented levels.“After a year of gaining, investors in the market might have started thinking of an exit plan and looking for triggers,” said Zhang Chenfeng, a researcher at top Chinese commodity hedge fund Shanghai Chaos Investment Group Co. The recent rollback in commodity prices was partly attributed to some disputes in macroeconomic outlooks such as inflation, he added.In China, traders fear the government’s increasingly strong language warning against what it calls “unreasonable” gains could cap further rallies. In recent weeks, Beijing has pledged more domestic supply to ease prices, tougher oversight on spot and futures markets, and vowed to crack down on speculation and hoarding.At a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday, the State Council said more effort needs to be taken to prevent rising commodity prices from being passed through to consumers, according to reports carried in state media.“China’s voice is getting louder,” Zhang said. Chinese officials “have been trying to calm down speculative price surges, especially in coal and coke markets.”Aggregate open interest in some of China’s major industrial commodities has fallen near the lowest levels since late February, indicating net-long positions are being liquidated, Bloomberg calculations showed. Hedge funds have also trimmed bullish bets on global commodities for the first time in over a month, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Intercontinental Exchange data.Economic data for April suggest that both China’s economic expansion and its credit impulse -- new credit as a percentage of GDP -- may already have peaked, leaving the recent rally in prices to record highs looking precarious. The most obvious fallout would be on those metals keyed to real estate and infrastructure spending, from copper and aluminum, to steel and its main ingredient, iron ore.The prospect of a taper on easy money conditions in the U.S., the world’s second major pillar of commodities demand, is compounding the worries over a tougher demand environment for raw materials.On the WireChina has tapped the U.S. for more than a third of next season’s expected corn imports, accelerating its buying from the world’s top supplier to fill its growing grain needs. Chinese traders say they’re importing record volumes of U.S. feed including soybeans, corn, and sorghum, according to a USDA report.China April Gasoline Output Rose 17.4% Y/y to 11.802m TonsCommodity Investing Has Eye on Clock If GDP Growth Levels OffAlcoa Sees ‘Extreme Tightness’ in Aluminum and Value-Added MetalNew, Cleaner Capacity to Boost China’s Aluminum Output in 2021China’s Hunk of Brazil Beef Exports May Get a Lot Bigger: ChartChile Lifts Copper Price Estimates, Saying New Records PossibleChina Reports H5N8 Bird Flu in Wild Birds in Tibet: ReutersThe Week AheadFriday, May 21China weekly iron ore port stockpilesShanghai exchange weekly commodities inventory, 15:30SMM battery materials conference in Changsha, Hunan, day 2AGMs: Cnooc, Tianqi Lithium, CATLMore stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • JPMorgan Eyes $100 Million Payday on Trade Linked to Aramco Deal

    (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan & Chase Co. is set to earn more than $100 million on a recent trade tied to the sale of a stake in Saudi Aramco’s oil pipelines, a windfall that stands out even in the sprawling interest-rate swap market, people familiar with the matter said.The bank is poised to book gains on a hedging transaction with U.S. investment firm EIG Global Energy Partners LLC, which agreed last month to invest $12.4 billion in the pipelines, the people said. JPMorgan advised Aramco on the deal and was one of two banks that helped it arrange a loan of more than $10 billion offered to the buyers, the people said.Given the size of the financing, EIG separately entered into a so-called swap deal with JPMorgan to guard against fluctuations in interest rates. JPMorgan is in line for the nine-figure profit after markets moved in its favor, according to the people, who asked not be identified discussing sensitive information.Read more: Aramco Said to Tap Moelis to Raise Billions From Asset SalesWhile buyers in an acquisition this size normally turn to a group of lenders to manage their financing risk, JPMorgan was the sole bank on the hedging transaction, the people said. The size of the return was commensurate with the risk the bank took onto its books as counterparty on the swap, one of the people said.Fee PoolAramco wasn’t a counterparty on the swap trade, the people said. JPMorgan hasn’t yet booked the profits on the hedging transaction, and the size of the return could still change, the people said.Representatives for Aramco and JPMorgan declined to comment, while a spokesperson of EIG didn’t immediately provide comment.Bespoke hedges have long offered profits to Wall Street firms that can outstrip those from lending or advising on deals, though they can also prompt unhappy clients if gains get too large. JPMorgan’s payday highlights why global banks continue to chase big deals from Aramco, with the expectation of profiting from such ancillary work even if the Saudi energy company itself doesn’t dole out large advisory fees.Deal PushEIG is leading a consortium that’s buying a 49% interest in leasing rights over Aramco’s oil pipelines, according to an April statement. Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. has said it’s also in talks to join the investor group.Advisers are getting ready for more deals from the state-owned energy company. Aramco is considering the sale of a stake in its vast natural gas pipeline network, Bloomberg News reported last month. It’s also reviewing its upstream business, a move that could Aramco bring in external investors to some of its oil and gas assets, people with knowledge of the matter have said.Aramco is one of JPMorgan’s biggest clients globally, with the relationship between the two stretching back decades. JPMorgan was among the roster of banks that worked on Aramco’s $29.4 billion IPO in 2019 -- still the world’s largest-ever listing. Banks on the listing shared a fee pool of just over $100 million, which was unusually small relative to the size of the IPO.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Stellantis to restructure dealers network to face industry changes

    MILAN (Reuters) -Carmaker Stellantis will completely restructure its European dealers network as it seeks to adapt to changes in the industry brought by electrification, including a boom in online sales, and achieve promised post-merger synergies. After Stellantis was formed at the start of the year by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, Chief Executive Carlos Tavares has taken action on several fronts, from cost-cutting to technology partnerships. Stellantis will end all current sales and service contracts with European dealers for its 14 brands, with effect from June 2023, it said in a statement seen by Reuters on Thursday.

  • Crypto Lender Mistakenly Deposits Bitcoin Into User Accounts

    (Bloomberg) -- BlockFi Inc., a crypto-lending startup, mistakenly sent some users Bitcoin as part of a promotion and is working on reversing it.The company made what it called incorrect promo payouts in Bitcoin instead of U.S. dollars to certain customers. Though BlockFi worked on reversing them, a number of recipients withdrew the coins before the company could backpedal. (It was fewer than 100, the company said.) The firm’s exposure is around $10 million, though that amount is decreasing as more users return the coins, said Zac Prince, co-founder and chief executive officer of BlockFi.“BlockFi carries loss reserves as part of its accounting policies and this is a fraction of existing loss reserves -- so no negative impact to equity or ongoing platform operations,” Prince wrote by email. “The issue that caused the withdrawals was fixed and incremental safeguards have been developed to prevent any similar issue in the future.”The erroneous deposits have not affected BlockFi’s ongoing operations and the company is notching record levels of trading volume without interruption, he added.Meanwhile, screenshots of the deposits made their rounds on social media, with at least one Tweet showing a deposit of 700 Bitcoin. Though it’s down significantly this week, each coin is trading around $34,000 Wednesday.Last week, BlockFi tweeted that some promotion participants “may see an inaccurate bonus payment displayed in their transaction history.”Meanwhile, the company’s emailed affected users asking for the money to be returned.BlockFi, perhaps the most visible nonbank ­cryptocurrency firm, offers a number of crypto products, including borrowing and lending and it runs platforms for trading cryptocurrency. It’s been in the limelight as it’s grown in recent months amid a crypto-market rally that’s being unwound this week.Read more: Lending Bitcoin to Earn 6% Comes With Risk You Won’t Get at BankThe crypto firm’s snafu is reminiscent of Citigroup Inc.’s $500 million blunder last summer when it accidentally sent payments to a group of lenders.“As a stand-alone, it was just a glitch,” Mike Loukas, chief executive officer at TrueMark Investments, said of BlockFi. “We see it with banks all the time in dollars. But because it’s such a volatile asset, the mistake gets magnified.”More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.