INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behalf of PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD) Investors

Business Wire 15-Aug-2024 4:14 PM

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased PDD Holdings Inc. ("PDD" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:PDD) securities between April 30, 2021 and June 25, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). PDD investors have until October 15, 2024 to file a lead plaintiff motion.

Investors suffering losses on their PDD investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com.

On March 21, 2023, Reuters reported that PDD's Pinduoduo app had been suspended by Google for "security concerns, after malware issues were found on versions of the Chinese e-commerce app outside Google's app store." On this news, PDD's stock price fell $3.35, or 4.2%, to close at $75.58 per share on March 22, 2023, thereby injuring investors.

Then, on March 27, 2023, Bloomberg reported that "[s]ecurity researchers . . . have identified and outlined potential malware in versions of [PDD's] Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo, days after Google suspended it from its Android app store." On this news, PDD's stock price fell $2.28, or 3.1%, to close at $72.68 per share on March 27, 2023.

Then, on June 25, 2024, the Attorney General of Arkansas announced that he was suing PDD's shopping app, Temu, for violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Arkansas Personal Information Protection Act, stating that Temu "is a data-theft business that sells goods online as a means to an end," and that "[t]hough it is known as an e-commerce platform, Temu is functionally malware and spyware. It is purposefully designed to gain unrestricted access to a user's phone operating system. It can override data privacy settings on users' devices, and it monetizes this unauthorized collection of data." On this news, PDD's stock price fell $8.06, or 5.8%, over two consecutive trading days to close at $131.94 per share on June 27, 2024, thereby injuring investors further.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout 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 failed to disclose to investors that: (1) PDD's applications contained malware, which was designed to obtain user data without the user's consent, including reading private text messages; (2) PDD has no meaningful system to prevent goods made by forced labor from being sold on its platform, and has openly sold banned products on its Temu platform; (3) the foregoing subjected the Company to a heightened risk of legal and political scrutiny; and (4) as a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

If you purchased PDD securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020, by telephone at (215) 638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

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