On August 7, 2026, Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Christina W. Lovato, Meta Materials, Inc. (“Meta Materials” or the “Company”), and Doug Collins (together, the “Plaintiffs”) against Citadel Securities LLC (“Citadel”), Virtu Americas LLC (“Virtu”), Anson Funds Management LP, and Anson Advisors, Inc. (the “Anson Fund Defendants”) (together, the “Defendants”). The action alleges that Defendants defrauded investors by placing and executing manipulative trades designed to artificially deflate the price of Meta Materials stock and also resulted in increased transaction costs for investors.

This lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired, or sold or otherwise disposed of, securities of Meta Materials between June 28, 2021 and August 20, 2024, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The action, filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada, is captioned Christina W. Lovato et al. v. Citadel Securities LLC, Virtu Americas LLC, Anson Funds Management LP, and Anson Advisors, Inc., No. 26-5036-gs (Bankr. D. Nev.).

Citadel and Virtu are broker-dealers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and operate as major market makers, routinely placing and executing securities trades for investors as well as for their own trading accounts. The Anson Defendants are investment advisory firms for private pooled investment vehicles that co-manage a flagship fund.

The complaint alleges violations of Sections 9(a), 9(e), 10(b), and 20A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants engaged in a manipulative and illegal trading practice known as “spoofing,” repeatedly entering thousands of baiting orders and illegal short sales to create the false impression that there was both excess supply and excess volatility in Meta Materials stock to benefit Defendants’ own trading position. Defendants thus induced other investors to sell their holdings at artificially deflated prices.

For example, on June 29, 2021, Citadel placed baiting orders for 16,000 shares of Meta Materials stock, creating a significant sell-side imbalance in the market. Citadel did not actually sell any Meta Materials shares, but their fictitious baiting orders induced the entry of real orders from other market participants, driving down the price of Meta Materials stock. Citadel then took advantage of this artificial downward pressure to purchase 3,250 shares at prices below the prevailing best offer. Within three seconds of placing them, Citadel had cancelled all 16,000 sell orders, eliminating the artificial sell-side imbalance that it had falsely induced in the market, in the absence of any new, material news about Meta Materials.

The action also alleges that the Anson Fund Defendants sold short shares of Meta Materials ahead of the Company’s April 2023 offering, and subsequently purchased over 17 million shares directly from the Company during the April 2023 offering, while in possession of material, nonpublic information regarding that offering. Plaintiff Lovato and other class members transacted in Meta Materials stock in an open and efficient market contemporaneously with the Anson Fund Defendants’ trading in possession of material, nonpublic information, thus constituting a violation of Section 20A of the Exchange Act.

Before and during the Class Period, regulators specifically warned and fined Defendants for their illegal practices. For instance, in September 2023, the SEC fined Citadel $7 million for order mismarking in violation of regulation SHO. In June 2024, the Anson Fund Defendants paid the SEC over $2 million in civil penalties for failing to disclose that from 2018-2023, the Anson Fund Defendants’ short-selling strategy involved coordinating with activist short-position publishers on the timing of bearish reports about securities the Anson Fund Defendants had shorted and sharing part of the resulting trading profits with those same publishers.

Investors who purchased or sold Meta Materials securities during the Class Period are members of this proposed Class and may be able to seek appointment as lead plaintiff, which is a court-appointed representative of the Class, by complying with the relevant provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”). See 15 U.S.C. Section 78u-4(a)(2)(A)(i)-(vi).

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court by no later than Monday October 12, 2026. You do not need to seek to become a lead plaintiff in order to share in any possible recovery. You may also retain counsel of your choice to represent you in this action.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Abe Alexander at Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. at 646-722-8500, or via email at aalexander@gelaw.com.

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