Wayfair Faces Class Action for Violations of Federal Securities Laws

Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe announced that purchasers of Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) filed a class action against the company for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Wayfair engages in e-commerce business in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe is investigating potential derivative claims on behalf of the shareholders of the company.

According the securities complaint filed in the District of Massachusetts, certain of Wayfair’s officers and directors engaged in a fraudulent scheme and course of business between August 2, 2018 and October 31, 2018 that artificially inflated the price of Wayfair’s common stock and allowed Wayfair insiders to cash out, selling more than $87.75 million worth of personally held shares at fraud-inflated prices. During this period, Wayfair executives publicly represented that the company’s advertising model was highly profitable, and CEO Niraj Shah said he was “incredibly bullish” about the business. Company insiders proceeded to sell tens of thousands of personal shares before the company announced on November 1, 2018 that advertising expenses were actually driving up the company’s overall costs and the company’s net loss for 3Q18 was a massive $151.7 million or $1.69 per share. On this news, the price of Wayfair common stock declined precipitously, closing down more than $14 per share, or nearly 13%, on unusually high trading volume.  

If you currently own stock in Wayfair and wish to obtain additional information about our investigation—or would like to participate in a potential class action—please complete the form below for a free legal consultation.