Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP (“Robbins Geller”) (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/yelp/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of Yelp Inc. (“Yelp”) (NYSE:YELP) common stock during the period between October 29, 2013 and April 3, 2014 (the “Class Period”).
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller at 800-449-4900 or 619-231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@rgrdlaw.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/yelp/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Yelp and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yelp is an online networking platform that connects people with local businesses. The Company generates revenue primarily from the sale of advertising on its website and mobile app to local businesses of all sizes that seek to reach its growing audience of consumers.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company’s true business and financial condition, including but not limited to the true nature of the so-called “firsthand” experiences and reviews appearing on the Company’s website, the robustness of its processes and algorithms purportedly designed to screen unreliable reviews, and the Company’s forecasted financial growth prospects and the extent to which they were reliant upon undisclosed business practices, including but not limited to requiring business customers to pay to suppress negative reviews. Defendants’ false and misleading statements during the Class Period caused the Company’s stock to trade at artificially inflated prices, reaching a high of over $98.00 per share on March 4, 2014, and allowed Company insiders to sell more than 1.16 million shares of Yelp stock at prices as high as $98.99 per share for insider trading proceeds of more than $81.5 million.
According to the complaint, as the true facts concerning the Company’s business practices began to be revealed to the market through a series of articles and disclosures starting on March 31, 2014, the Company’s stock price declined, falling from a close of $80.18 per share on April 1, 2014 to a close of $65.76 per share on April 4, 2014.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Yelp common stock during the Class Period (the “Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Robbins Geller, with more than 200 lawyers in ten offices, represents U.S. and international institutional investors in contingency-based securities and corporate litigation. The firm has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest jury verdict ever in a securities class action. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information.
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