Lawsuit Overview
March 3, 2020 - The case was dismissed.
August 3, 2020 - A motion to dismiss the second amended complaint was filed.
July 2, 2020 - A second amended complaint was filed.
March 20, 2020 - An amended complaint was filed.
February 12, 2020 - An investor in shares of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements made between April 25, 2018 and January 9, 2020.
Grand Prairie, TX based Six Flags Entertainment Corporation owns and operates regional theme and water parks under the Six Flags name. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation reported that its annual Total Revenue rose from over $1.35 billion in 2017 to over $1.46 billion in 2018 and that its Net Income increased from $273.81 million in 2017 to $275.99 million in 2018.
Beginning on February 14, 2019, when Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced a negative $15 million revenue adjustment for the fourth quarter of 2018 due to delays in the expected opening dates of some of its China parks, which the Company falsely blamed on macroeconomic issues in China.
Then, on October 23, 2019, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation again postponed the timing of its park openings in China, stating it's unrealistic to think it's going to be exactly as we've outlined.
Finally, on January 10, 2020, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation disclosed that the development of its Six Flags-branded parks in China continued to encounter challenges and had not progressed as expected, placing the future of its China parks in jeopardy. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation also revealed that Riverside continued to face significant financial challenges, which caused Riverside to default on its payment obligations to Six Flags. As a result of these disclosures, the price of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation common stock declined precipitously.
Shares of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX) declined from $59.52 per share in August 2019 to as low as $35.06 per share on January 13, 2020.
According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges on behalf of purchasers of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX) common shares between April 25, 2018 and January 9, 2020, that the defendants violated Federal Securities Laws.
More specifically, the plaintiff claims that between April 25, 2018 and January 9, 2020, the defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and growth prospects related to its agreements with Riverside to develop parks in China. The plaintiff claims that as development of those parks began to face delays, Defendants misled investors by downplaying the problems as short-term and not material in the context of the long-term opportunity”, that the Defendants also assured investors that Riverside was work[ing] through the macroeconomic issues in China and that Riverside was in great shape financially, that in truth, Riverside was in severe financial distress and did not have the resources to timely complete its projects with Six Flags, and that as a result of Defendants' misrepresentations, shares of Six Flags' common stock traded at artificially inflated prices between April 25, 2018 and January 9, 2020.