On August 9, 2022, Vertex disclosed the massive losses incurred at the Mobile refinery during the second quarter of 2022. Vertex announced a net loss for the company of $63.8 million. Following this news, the price of Vertex common stock fell by $6.18 per share, or 44%, on August 9, 2022.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) prior to the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, defendants had entered into inventory and crack spread hedging derivatives that significantly capped the profit margins on 50% of the Mobile refinery’s expected output over the period April 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022, affecting over 6.5 million barrels of refined fuel output; (b) prior to the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, defendants had entered into an inventory intermediation agreement with the investment bank Macquarie Group, whereby Macquarie purchased (from third parties), owned, and sold (to Vertex) all crude oil inventory to be used at the Mobile refinery and also purchased (from Vertex), owned, and sold (to third parties) all refined fuel inventory produced at the Mobile refinery; (c) prior to the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, defendants had entered into an inventory purchase agreement with Shell Oil as part of the Mobile acquisition agreement; (d) immediately following the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, Vertex experienced production issues that caused significant shortfalls in refined fuel volumes; (e) following the acquisition of the Mobile refinery, defendants overstated the purported profit margins that could be achieved at the refinery; and (f) as a result of the above misrepresentations and concealed facts, the Mobile refinery did not “generate[] strong EBITDA” “[d]uring the first 30 days of operations,” and the Mobile refinery transition was not “seamless.”

Investors who purchased or acquired Vertex securities between April 1, 2022 and August 8, 2022, may no later than June 12, 2023, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class.