SHAREHOLDER ALERT - Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC Notifies Investors of Class Action Against National Beverage Corp. (FIZZ) and Lead Plaintiff Deadline - September 17, 2018

NEW YORK, July 18, 2018

This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

On May 4, 2017, National Beverage issued a press release stating that it "employs methods that no other company does in this area—VPO (velocity per outlet) and VPC (velocity per capita)."  National Beverage asserted that it "utilize[s] two proprietary techniques to magnify these measures and this creates growth never before thought possible."  On May 5, 2017, National Beverage issued a second press release, stating that "[o]ur impressive VPO calculator . . . is flashing solid green numbers as we bring FY2017 to a close."

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) National Beverage's sales claims and the supposed underlying "proprietary techniques" lacked a verifiable basis; (2) National Beverage's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), Defendant Nick A. Caporella ("Caporella"), engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct between 2014 and 2016; and (3) as a result, National Beverage's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. 

On December 8, 2017, National Beverage issued a press release announcing its financial and operating results for the period ended October 28, 2017.  Notwithstanding the Company's representations in its May 2017 press releases with respect to "creat[ing] growth never before thought possible," analyst Laurent Grandet of Credit Suisse assigned an "underperform" rating to the Company's stock.  Grandet noted that National Beverage's business was driven "almost entirely" by the success of its LaCroix sparkling water brand, the growth trajectory of which was in fact slowing.  That same day, Maxim analyst Anthony Vendetti reiterated a "sell" recommendation for National Beverage stock, noting that its "numerous weak brands and opaque financial reporting" made its sale "highly unlikely." Following this news, National Beverage's share price fell $11.91, or 10.56%, to close at $100.84 on December 8, 2017.

On June 26, 2018, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled "The SEC Has Had Its Own Questions About LaCroix", reporting that National Beverage had "declined to provide" the SEC "with requested sales figures to clarify [National Beverage's] sales claims", following a letter request from the SEC in January 2018. Following this news, National Beverage's share price fell $9.75, or 8.87%, to close at $100.19 on June 27, 2018.