LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST VTNR, HBNC and STEM - Jakubowitz Law Pursues Shareholders Claims

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 22, 2023 / Jakubowitz Law announces that securities fraud class action lawsuits have commenced on behalf of shareholders of the following publicly-traded companies who purchased shares within the class periods listed below. Shareholders interested in representing the class of wronged shareholders have until the lead plaintiff deadline to petition the court. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. For more details and to speak with our firm without cost or obligation, follow the links below.

Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR)

CONTACT JAKUBOWITZ ABOUT VTNR:
https://claimyourloss.com/securities/vertex-energy-inc-loss-submission-form/?id=39751&from=1

Class Period : April 1, 2022 - August 8, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline : June 12, 2023

The filed complaint alleges that defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) prior to the acquisition of the oil refinery in Mobile, Alabama, defendants had entered into inventory and crack spread hedging derivatives that significantly capped the profit margins on 50% of the Mobile refinery's expected output over the period April 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022, affecting over 6.5 million barrels of refined fuel output. These hedges severely limited Vertex's ability to capitalize on the record-high crack spreads that existed at the time of the acquisition and resulted in over $90 million in losses in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022; (b) prior to the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, defendants had entered into an inventory intermediation agreement with the investment bank Macquarie Group, whereby Macquarie purchased (from third parties), owned, and sold (to Vertex) all crude oil inventory to be used at the Mobile refinery and also purchased (from Vertex), owned, and sold (to third parties) all refined fuel inventory produced at the Mobile refinery. The strict terms of the arrangement, including requiring Vertex to purchase hedges to protect Macquarie's position in holding the crude and refined inventory, combined with the fact that the oil market was in a state of backwardation in early 2022, resulted in Vertex incurring significant fees and inventory losses. The losses, which began as of the April 1, 2022 acquisition date, totaled $23 million during the second quarter of fiscal year 2022; (c) prior to the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, defendants had entered into an inventory purchase agreement with Shell Oil as part of the Mobile acquisition agreement. Vertex had anticipated purchasing approximately $100 million of crude oil and refined fuel inventory. Immediately prior to the closing of the acquisition, Vertex learned that pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement, it would be required to purchase substantially more inventory from Shell Oil, totaling $164 million. Due to the state of backwardation in the oil market, Vertex was forced to pay Shell Oil above-market prices for the additional crude oil inventory. The additional Shell Oil inventory purchase triggered $13.3 million in inventory losses at or around the time of the acquisition; (d) immediately following the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, Vertex experienced production issues that caused significant shortfalls in refined fuel volumes. The production issues resulted in $8 million of lost profits during the second quarter of fiscal year 2022; (e) following the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, defendants overstated the purported profit margins that could be achieved at the refinery. Defendants represented that the "3-2-1 crack spread" was the appropriate benchmark for the Mobile refinery; however it was later revealed that the "2-1-1 crack spread," which resulted in lower profits per barrel of production, was the more accurate profit benchmark for the Mobile refinery; and (f) as a result of the above misrepresentations and concealed facts, the Mobile refinery did not "generate[] strong EBITDA]" "[d]uring the first 30 days of operations," and the Mobile refinery transition was not "seamless."

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC)

CONTACT JAKUBOWITZ ABOUT HBNC:
https://claimyourloss.com/securities/horizon-class-action-loss-submission-form/?id=39751&from=1

Class Period : March 9, 2022 - March 10, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline : June 20, 2023

The filed complaint alleges that defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company maintained deficient internal accounting controls relating to its classification of certain loan balances and securities; (ii) as a result of the foregoing deficiencies, throughout 2022 the Company issued quarterly financial statements containing errors that would require subsequent revision; (iii) restatement of the foregoing financial statements would hinder the Company's ability to timely file its annual report for 2022; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

Stem, Inc. f/k/a Star Peak Energy Transition Corp. (NYSE:STEM)

CONTACT JAKUBOWITZ ABOUT STEM:
https://claimyourloss.com/securities/stem-inc-class-action-loss-submission-form/?id=39751&from=1

This lawsuit is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Stem securities: (a) pursuant and/or traceable to certain documents issued in connection with the merger consummated on April 28, 2021, by and among the Company, STPK Merger Sub Corp., and Stem, Inc., a private Delaware corporation; and/or (b) between March 4, 2021, and February 16, 2023, both dates inclusive.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline : July 11, 2023

The filed complaint alleges that defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Legacy Stem suffered from material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting related to accounting for the deferred cost of goods sold and inventory, certain revenue recognition calculations, and internal-use capitalized software calculations; (ii) the Company had overstated Legacy Stem's and its own post-Merger business and financial prospects; (iii) Stem's software revenue did not makeup 100% of the Company's services revenue; (iv) Stem had overstated the benefits expected to flow from its AP partnership; and (v) as a result, the offering documents and defendants public statements throughout the class period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.

Jakubowitz Law is vigorous in pursuit of justice for shareholders who have been the victim of securities fraud. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:
JAKUBOWITZ LAW
1140 Avenue of the Americas
9th Floor
New York, New York 10036
T: (628) 895-0423
F: (212) 537-5887

SOURCE: Jakubowitz Law

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