Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) Accused of Misleading Shareholders
According to the complaint for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between February 20, 2020 and March 12, 2020, on February 20, 2020, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) touted that “despite the current known impact from the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak…the Company’s booked position remained ahead of prior year and at higher prices” and assured its confidence in a strong financial performance for the Company long-term. Later that month, Norwegian stated in its 2019 annual report that the Company “place the utmost importance on the safety of guests and crew” and it was “proactively protecting the health of travelers.” Then, on March 11, 2020, the Miami New Times reported on leaked emails from Norwegian’s staff that revealed Norwegian had directed its sales staff to lie to customers regarding COVID-19 “to protect the company’s bookings.” On March 12, 2020, The Washington Post detailed some of the lies, which included statements like “the coronavirus will not affect you” and “fact: coronavirus in humans is an overhyped pandemic scare.” On this news, shares of Norwegian fell almost 53% to close at $9.65.
