Investor Sues Target After Shares Plunge Post-boycott

A conservative legal group run by Stephen Miller, a former senior adviser in the Trump administration, is suing Target, alleging the retail company misrepresented the risk to shareholders before there was customer backlash over its LGBTQ- and Pride-themed merchandise.

American First Legal filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. district court in Fort Myers, Florida, on behalf of shareholder Brian Craig, accusing the company, CEO Brian Cornell, and Target’s board of directors of betraying their customers and shareholders with misleading representations about its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates, and for causing shareholders to lose billions of dollars.

Controversy erupted in May and boycotts of Target were called after the company’s rollout of its LGBTQ-themed merchandise. Products included children’s one-piece swimsuits with clothing tags that described the items as having a “light binding effect”‘ on breasts and “tuck-friendly construction for male genitalia” with “extra crotch coverage,” as well as other children’s clothing that had occult imagery. Target pulled some of the items and moved the displays to different parts of its stores.

The lawsuit stated Craig owns 216.45 shares of Target stock that he purchased April 11, 2022, for $49,995.95. By May 17 of this year, the value of the stock had dropped to $34,839. By June 14, it plunged to $28,896.

“Federal law requires publicly traded corporations to provide certain information to shareholders in their proxy statements that allow those shareholders to make informed decisions,” said Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of American First Legal, in a news release.

“As alleged in our complaint, Target failed to execute its duty to its shareholders by making statements that led them to believe that political and social risks were being assessed — when in reality, the only thing Target’s board and management cared about was how effectively they fulfilled the desires of various metrics advanced by left-wing ‘stakeholders.'”

“In so doing, they caused our client to lose a substantial amount of money,” Hamilton added in the release, “and we will vindicate his rights in federal court.”

Fox Business reported June 2 the controversy had cost Target $15.7 billion in market value. After markets closed Wednesday, Target’s stock price was $130.60 a share. On Feb. 2, 2023, the price had been as high as $181.02 a share.

Newsmax has reached out to Target for comment.