Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Guidewire Software, Intel, Velocity Financial, and FirstEnergy and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Velocity Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VEL), and FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE).  Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.
Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE)Class Period: March 6, 2019 to March 4, 2020Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 23, 2020Guidewire provides enterprise-level software systems for the property and casualty (“P&C”) insurance industry.  During the Class Period, defendants represented to investors that Guidewire was well-positioned to capitalize on a shift in the P&C insurance industry away from on-premise software systems to software systems provided over the cloud.  Defendants touted the “robust” demand that existed for Guidewire’s cloud-based products and assured investors that customer demand was “enduring and broad-based across most or all segments of the market.” Defendants further touted the demand for Guidewire’s cloud offering by reporting, at the end of each quarter, that cloud sales represented a substantial and growing percentage of the Company’s overall sales. The Company also issued highly favorable revenue and Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) guidance, and assured investors that customer demand remained strong across the Company’s entire product offering, including its legacy on-premise business. On March 4, 2020, only three months after reiterating its strong revenue guidance for fiscal 2020, the truth about Guidewire’s failed cloud transition emerged.  In announcing its financial results for the second quarter of 2020, the Company was forced to slash its revenue guidance for fiscal year 2020 by $57 million, from a range of $759 million to $771 million down to $702 million to $714 million. Rather than forecasting a year-over-year revenue increase of up to 7% for fiscal 2020, the Company was now forecasting a substantial revenue decline of approximately 7.5%. The Company similarly lowered its critical ARR guidance to be between 11% and 12% in fiscal 2020, compared to its previous range of 14% to 16%.On this news, Guidewire’s stock price plummeted by 17% in a single day, falling from $112.48 on March 3, 2020 to $93.56 on March 4, 2020, a decline of $18.92 per share.The complaint, filed on July 24, 2020, alleges that the demand for Guidewire’s cloud products was weak and the Company’s transition to the cloud was not going well because Guidewire’s cloud-based products needed to be significantly improved to meet customer needs and catch-up with rival systems.  Further, Guidewire’s failed transition to the cloud was damaging the Company’s traditional on-premise business, as customers delayed purchasing decisions or declined to renew existing licenses.  As a result, Guidewire’s revenue guidance, including guidance principally based on significantly increasing demand for the Company’s cloud-based products, was baseless and unattainable.For more information on the Guidewire class action go to: https://bespc.com/GWREIntel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC)Class Period: April 23, 2020 to July 23, 2020Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 28, 2020On July 23, 2020, after the market closed, Intel disclosed that production of its 7-nanometer chips would be delayed after the Company had “identified a defect mode in [its] 7-nanometer process that resulted in yield degradation.”On this news, the Company’s share price fell by $9.81, or approximately 16%, to close at $50.59 per share on July 24, 2020.The complaint, filed on July 28, 2020, 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: (1) that Intel had identified a defect mode in its 7-nanometer process that resulted in yield degradation; (2) that, as a result, the Company would experience a six-month delay in its production schedule for 7-nanometer products; (3) that Intel was reasonably likely to rely on third-party foundries for manufacturing its 7-nanometer products; (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Intel was reasonably likely to lose market share to its competitors who are already selling 7-nanometer products; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.For more information on the Intel class action go to: https://bespc.com/INTC-2Velocity Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VEL)Class Period: Common stock purchased pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement and Prospectus, as amended, issued in connection with Velocity’s January 2020 IPO.Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 28, 2020Velocity is a real estate finance company that originates and manages loans issued to borrowers nationwide to finance the purchase of small residential rental and commercial real estate investment properties.On April 8, 2020, Velocity announced its financial and operational results for the 2019 fourth quarter and full year. The Company stated it had suspended all loan origination operations due to market volatility and that it was experiencing enhanced delinquencies in its loan portfolio and had implemented various strategies to attempt to “address this challenge.” On May 13, 2020, Velocity announced its financial and operational results for the first quarter of 2020 – the same quarter in which the IPO was conducted. The Company stated that its net income had decreased 50% sequentially during the quarter to just $2.6 million.By May 15, 2020, Velocity stock was trading at just $2.53 per share – more than 80% below the $13.00 price investors paid for the stock in the IPO just four months previously.The complaint, filed on July 29, 2020, alleges that defendants failed to disclose that, at the time of the IPO, the Company’s non-performing loans had dramatically increased in size from the figures provided in the offering materials, as measured by both the amount of unpaid principal balance and as a percentage of the Company’s overall loan portfolio. In addition, defendants failed to provide any information to investors regarding the potential impact of the novel coronavirus on Velocity’s business and operations, despite the fact that the international spread of the virus had already been confirmed at the time of the IPO. The failure to disclose the substantial and growing proportion of the Company’s loans that were non-performing and/or on non-accrual status as of the IPO rendered the statements contained in the Offering Materials regarding the quality of the Company’s loan portfolio and underwriting practices materially misleading.For more information on the Velocity Financial class action go to: https://bespc.com/VELFirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE: FE)Class Period: February 21, 2017 to July 21, 2020Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 28, 2020On July 21, 2020, federal agents announced the arrest of Ohio Speaker Larry Householder and four other persons, including a prominent FirstEnergy lobbyist, in connection with a $60 million racketeering and bribery scheme.On this news, the Company’s share price fell by $7.01, or 17%, to close at $34.25 per share on July 21, 2020.On July 22, 2020, Cleveland.com published an article entitled “FirstEnergy was relentless in quest to have Ohio legislature bail out the utility’s nuclear plants,” which provided further details regarding FirstEnergy’s illicit activities.On this news, the Company’s share price fell by $7.16, or 21%, to close at $27.09 per share on July 22, 2020.The complaint, filed on July 28, 2020, 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: (1) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had orchestrated a $60 million campaign to corrupt the political process in order to secure the passage of legislation favoring the Company and its affiliates; (2) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had secretly funneled tens of millions of dollars to Ohio politicians to bribe those politicians in order to secure votes in favor of Ohio House Bill 6 (“HB6”), a $1.3 billion ratepayer bailout for FirstEnergy’s unprofitable nuclear facilities; (3) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had conducted a massive, misleading advertising campaign in support of HB6 and in opposition to a ballot initiative to repeal HB6 by passing millions of dollars through an intricate web of “dark money” entities and front companies in order to conceal the Company’s involvement; (4) that FirstEnergy and its representatives and affiliates had subverted a citizens’ ballot initiative to repeal HB6 by, among other unscrupulous tactics, hiring more than 15 signature gathering firms (and thus conflicting them out of supporting the initiative) and bribing ballot initiative insiders and signature collectors; (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ Class Period statements regarding FirstEnergy’s regulatory and legislative efforts were materially false and misleading; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, FirstEnergy was subject to an extreme, undisclosed risk of reputational, legal and financial harm.For more information on the FirstEnergy class action go to: https://bespc.com/FEAbout Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com.  Attorney advertising.  Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contact Information:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
[email protected]
www.bespc.com

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