Nutanix, Inc. (NTNX) Accused of Misleading Investors

According to the complaint against Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTNX) for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between March 2, 2018 and February 28, 2019, Nutanix executives repeatedly reassured investors of the company’s pipeline strategy by noting the development and growth of its global sales force in various filings and conference calls. However, Nutanix failed to disclose that it had reallocated lead generation spending to other priorities. This decision caused a large disruption in Nutanix’s sales execution, which negatively impacted Nutanix’s sales pipeline and sales growth. On February 28, 2019, Nutanix announced its second quarter fiscal 2019 results and reported third quarter guidance that was below analysts' expectations. Management acknowledged that "inadequate marketing spend for pipeline generation and slower than expected sales hiring" were the reasons for the weak guidance. Additionally, Nutanix acknowledged that, despite earlier contrary assertions, its product portfolio was in “chaos.” On this news, Nutanix’s stock price fell $16.39 per share, more than 32%, to close at $33.70 per share on March 1, 2019.