Rite Aid, through its subsidiaries, operates a chain of retail drugstores in the U.S., and operates through two segments, Retail Pharmacy and Pharmacy Services. The Pharmacy Services segment provides integrated suite of pharmacy benefit management (“PBM”) offerings through, inter alia, Rite Aid’s Elixir subsidiary, including technology solutions, mail delivery services, specialty pharmacy, network and rebate administration, claims adjudication, and pharmacy discount programs.

On September 29, 2022, Rite Aid announced a $252.2 million charge for the impairment of goodwill related to Rite Aid’s Elixir subsidiary. On an earnings call held later in the day, Rite Aid’s Chief Financial Officer, Matt Schroeder, explained that the large impairment charge was related to Elixir based on “an update to our estimate of lives for 2023 based on the latest selling season,” and that Rite Aid “expected[ed] lives to go down.”

Following this news, Rite Aid’s stock price fell $1.97 per share, or 28.02%, to close at $5.06 per share on September 29, 2022.

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) despite representations to the contrary, the number of new members (i.e., “lives”) that the Elixir PBM services business was adding during the selling season ending on January 1, 2023 was in material decline; (ii) Rite Aid was likely to recognize a significant charge for the impairment of goodwill related to Elixir due to a decrease in “lives” covered by Elixir’s PBM services business; and (iii) as a result, Rite Aid’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.