NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., announce the commencement of the firm's securities class action lawsuit against Rocket Fuel Inc. ("Rocket Fuel" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:FUEL). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of Rocket Fuel common stock between September 20, 2013 and August 5, 2014, inclusive (the "Class Period"), where KSF maintains an office led by KSF Partner, Ramzi Abadou (ramzi.abadou@ksfcounsel.com).
What You May Do
If you are a Rocket Fuel shareholder and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com). If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by November 3, 2014. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. KSF encourages both institutional and individual purchasers of Rocket Fuel to contact the firm. The ultimate resolution of any securities class action is strengthened through the involvement of aggrieved shareholders and lead plaintiffs who have large financial interests. KSF also encourages anyone with information regarding Rocket Fuel's conduct during the period in question to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.
About the Lawsuit
Rocket Fuel and certain of its officers and directors are charged with making a series of materially false and misleading statements and omissions related to the Company's business and operations in violation of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Rocket Fuel failed to inform investors that defendants' Class Period misrepresentations concerning the Company's then financial and business condition, including its forecasted financial and business condition as alleged herein, were each materially false and misleading when made because defendants knew, or were reckless in not knowing, that: (i) a large percentage of the ads Rocket Fuel brokered were being "viewed" by automated fraudulent computer programs, rather than real people, such that the Company's operations and financial performance were in jeopardy; (ii) throughout the Class Period, Rocket Fuel's revenue growth was negatively impacted due to its inability to identify and eliminate bot traffic for its customers; (iii) no later than the beginning of February 2014, the Company knew that it would miss Wall Street consensus estimates for the quarter due to, among other things, customer concern about inventory quality; and (iv) the Secondary Offering was designed to enable Company insiders to unload their shares at artificially inflated prices.
On August 5, 2014, after the close of trading, Rocket Fuel announced that it expected 2014 revenue of $403 million to $427 million, down sharply from its forecast of $420 million to $435 million. The same day, the Wall Street Journal reported that "Rocket Fuel Inc. lowered its full-year revenue guidance for the year, pointing to customer concerns about inventory quality . . . ." During a same-day conference call with investors, Defendant George John suggested that concerns about fraudulent traffic is "a phenomena in our industry that hasn't been well understood," and tried to claim that the Company was "surprised by the strength of trends impacting our bookings in June [2014], and we now feel our full-year guidance should take into account slightly lower sales productivity based on the following three factors." One of those trends was "bot traffic and low-quality ad space on digital exchanges." The following day, on August 6, 2014, the Company's shares fell from $24.75 to $17.05 – a decline of approximately 30%.
About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
To learn more about KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General, Charles C. Foti, Jr., and other lawyers with significant experience litigating complex securities class actions nationwide on behalf of both institutional and individual shareholders, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.