Pomerantz Law Firm Announces the Filing of a Class Action Against Proterra Inc. and Certain Officers – PTRA

NEW YORK, Sept. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Proterra Inc. ("Proterra" or the "Company") PTRA and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and docketed under 23-cv-04528, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Proterra securities between August 11, 2021 and August 7, 2023, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.

If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Proterra securities during the Class Period, you have until September 12, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Proterra designs and manufactures zero-emission electric transit vehicles and electric vehicle ("EV") solutions for commercial applications. Following its merger with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. ("ArcLight"), Proterra billed itself to investors as a promising, market-leader in EV technology. It claimed to have raised a sufficient amount of cash from its special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC")-related operations to support its growth and scaling-up to profitability. Despite these claims, Proterra collapsed under the weight of its own expansion operations. It did not have enough cash or revenue to comply with its liquidity covenants and, as a result, ultimately filed for bankruptcy. During the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly concealed Proterra's increasing risk of insolvency despite analyst concerns and commentary.

At the start of the Class Period, on August 11, 2021, Proterra issued an investor letter describing its financial earnings and operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. In pertinent part, Proterra represented that it had "[a]mple cash to fund our growth plans" and "[a]s a result of the additional capital raised in our [merger transaction with ArcLight], we do not expect these investments to have a material impact on our cash needs in the years ahead. With an unrestricted cash and short-term investment balance of $762 million as of June 30, 2021, we believe we are amply capitalized to fund our growth opportunities until we achieve our goal of positive free cash flow in a few years." Similarly, Proterra's Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") at the time told investors, "[a]ll in, we ended the quarter with over $750 million in cash, and we continue to believe we have more than sufficient capital to fund our business until we achieve positive free cash flow within our 5-year planning period."

Defendants made similar representations about Proterra's liquidity and ability to scale-up throughout the Class Period. For example, on August 2, 2022, Proterra's CFO described the Company's strong financial position by stating "we have . . . the balance sheet to not only ride out potential economic turbulence over the next year," and said the Company had $523 million of cash and cash equivalents on their balance sheet. 

Contrary to these claims and representations, on March 15, 2023, Proterra announced it was in violation of a liquidity clause in their secured convertible notes. The Company also announced it may have to qualify an audit report with a "going concern" clause. 

When the smoke cleared at the end of the trading day, Proterra's stock price had dropped from its March 15, 2023 closing price of $2.51 to a March 16, 2023 closing price of $1.16—a staggering loss of $1.35 per share representing nearly 53% of its value. The volume of shares traded that day was more than ten times as high as the daily average volume during the Class Period.

Although analysts believed at the time that Proterra would be able to secure amendments and/or waivers to the liquidity covenants with its debt holders, the Company failed to do so. 

On August 7, 2023, after market hours, Proterra announced it had filed for bankruptcy.

In response to this news, Proterra's stock price plummeted. On August 7, 2023, Proterra's stock price closed at $1.43 per share. The following day, on August 8, 2023, Proterra's stock price declined to $0.17 per share.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

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CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980