Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR) Accused of Misleading Shareholders
According to the complaint for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between May 3, 2019 and February 27, 2020, in each of Gulfport’s quarterly report filings with the SEC for 2019, the Company touted the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures and consistently assured investors there had been no material changes that materially affected its internal control over financial reporting. Despite these repeated assurances, on February 27, 2020, Gulfport disclosed that its previously issued financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, “should no longer be relied upon due to material misstatements.” The Company further stated that as a consequence of these misstatements it determined “a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting existed as of September 30, 2019, and therefore the Company has concluded that its disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2019 were not effective.” On this news, Gulfport’s stock price fell almost 9% to close at $0.82 per share.
