On April 19, 2023, market analyst Blue Orca Capital issued a report stating, among other things, that “Shift4 engaged in a string of highly questionable and hyperaggressive accounting maneuvers seemingly designed to keep the stock afloat, from cash flow manipulation to inexplicable distributor acquisitions that enabled it to capitalize a major component of COGS.” Further, the report alleges that “Shift4’s CEO began to engage in highly aggressive stock promotion, proclaiming that FOUR is ‘way too cheap’ and that he is ‘absolutely’ considering taking the Company private[,]” however the report alleges that at the same time “Shift4’s CEO also claimed to be a ‘buyer’ when he was, in fact, a net seller of over 1 million shares in 2022, and just weeks before his planned disposal of up to 2 million shares alongside the closing of his [variable prepaid forward (VPF)] contract.”
On this news, Shift4’s stock price fell $5.95, or 8%, to close at $62.59 per share on April 19, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume.
