OPINION AND ORDER Bernard L. Maloney III and Nathan Severe, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, bring suit against Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (“Ollie’s”) and three of its senior executives, alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Ollie’s and its executives have moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. For the reasons that follow, their motion is granted. I. Background The following facts, drawn from the amended complaint, are presumed true for the purposes of this motion. (See Dkt. No. 47 (“AC”).) Ollie’s is a nationwide chain of bargain retail stores. (AC 2.) After going public in 2015, the company “embarked on an aggressive expansion campaign,” growing from 176 stores in 2014 to 324 stores in 2019. (AC 3.) Initially, investors and analysts worried that Ollie’s expansion would create inventory problems for the company, negatively impacting sales. (AC 4.) From 2015 through early 2019, however, Ollie’s consistently reported strong sales numbers, assuaging many of these concerns. (Id.) This case concerns the period beginning March 26, 2019. On that date, Ollie’s released positive financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018, reporting a 5.4 percent increase in comparable store sales, a measure of how stores are performing relative to how they performed over a similar period in the past. (AC 5.) Ollie’s also issued guidance for fiscal year 2019, projecting, among other things, a one- to two-percent increase in comparable store sales; total net sales of roughly $1.4 billion; and the opening of more than 40 new stores, with no planned closures. (AC 82.) On an earnings call with analysts that same day, Ollie’s CEO Mark Butler expressed confidence in the company’s growth, explaining that Ollie’s “deal flow” was “so strong” that the company could “very easily support [its] expansion plans for the foreseeable future.” (AC 83.) In response to questions about the inventory pipeline, Butler and Jay Stasz, Ollie’s chief financial officer, assured analysts that the company was “really, really locked and loaded” and that they had seen “really nothing material that would cause a swing in the inventory.” (AC
84, 86.) On June 6, 2019, Ollie’s issued a press release that appeared to confirm this assessment, reporting positive results for the year’s first quarter, including a 0.8 percent increase in comparable store sales. (AC 89.) The company also issued revised guidance for fiscal year 2019, raising its projections for net sales and earnings. (AC 90.) In the press release and in a conference call with analysts, company executives reaffirmed their confidence in Ollie’s inventory and touted the performance of new stores, which had “performed above…expectations.” (AC
