Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a class-action lawsuit against Target Corp., alleging the company misled investors about the risks of its 2023 LGBTQ Pride campaign, which sparked consumer backlash and caused a stock drop.
Target disputes these allegations, stating that it warned investors of potential boycotts related to its initiatives. The lawsuit claims that Target’s actions resulted in a significant impact on investor returns.
Uthmeier filed the lawsuit on behalf of the State Board of Administration, which manages Florida’s massive pension fund and other investments. It alleges that Target made false statements about “Environmental, Social and Governance” and “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” mandates, leading to the May 2023 Pride campaign.
The lawsuit names as defendants Target, its CEO Brian Cornell, and members of the company’s Board of Directors. It claims violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Target initially disputed these allegations in a January court filing, stating that it warned investors of potential boycotts related to its initiatives. However, the new lawsuit seeks to include a class of all people who bought Target stock from March 9, 2022, to August 16, 2023, and claims that the state may have been harmed by at least hundreds of thousands of members.
The class period was chosen because Target issued a 2021 annual report on March 9, 2022, and reported quarterly earnings on August 16, 2023. The lawsuit said that Target held over 787,000 shares of its stock at the beginning of this period and continued buying shares after that. It also noted that Target’s stock price fell significantly during this time.
Uthmeier joined forces with attorneys from America First Legal and the firms Boyden Gray PLLC and Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC to file the lawsuit. The attorney general stated that corporations pushing radical ideology at the expense of financial returns jeopardize retirement security for Florida’s first responders and teachers.
Source: https://eu.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/02/21/target-faces-florida-lawsuit-over-stock-losses-from-pride-backlash/79349606007