October 17, 2013
Bernstein Liebhard LLP today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all those (the “Class”) who purchased securities of Bankrate, Inc. (“Bankrate” or the “Company”) (NYSE: RATE) in or traceable to the Company’s June 16, 2011 initial public offering, in a December 6, 2011 secondary offering, or on the open market during the period from June 16, 2011 through October 15, 2012 inclusive (the “Class Period”).
The complaint charges the Company and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Bankrate publishes, aggregates and distributes personal finance content on the Internet. The Company generates revenues by, among other things, connecting consumers to companies that offer financial products – such as insurance, credit cards and mortgages – by providing referrals of interested customers’ contact information, or “leads,” to its client companies.
Plaintiffs allege that defendants issued materially false and misleading statements or failed to disclose material facts concerning Bankrate’s business and financial prospects. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that defendants misrepresented or omitted material facts about the true quality of Bankrate’s insurance leads.
On October 15, 2012, the Company announced that Bankrate would not meet its publicly announced earnings expectations for third quarter 2012, due to reductions in the volume of its insurance leads as a result of their poor quality. Following this news, the price of Bankrate stock declined approximately 22%, from a closing price of $14.50 on October 15, 2012, to a closing price of $11.26 on October 16, 2012, on heavy trading volume.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class members who invested in Bankrate securities during the Class Period. If you invested in Bankrate securities as described above, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the security, you may wish to join in this action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than December 9, 2013.
A “lead plaintiff” is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Bernstein Liebhard LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
If you are interested in discussing your rights as a Bankrate shareholder and/or have information relating to the matter, please contact Joseph R. Seidman, Jr. at (877) 779-1414 or seidman@bernlieb.com.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP has pursued hundreds of securities, consumer and shareholder rights cases and recovered over $3 billion for its clients. It has been named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” in each of the last ten years.
You can obtain a copy of the complaint from the clerk of the court for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.