The Montreal-based payments company’s stock fell by as much as 55 per cent on Wednesday after short seller Spruce Point released a report raising concerns about the company’s leadership and questioned its transparency around its financial disclosures. (The Logic)

Talking point: This is the second time in recent months that the U.S. investment firm has cratered a Montreal-based tech company’s stock, after targeting point-of-sale maker Lightspeed in September. News of the report erased billions of dollars from Nuvei’s market capitalization.  Spruce Point said it has a short position in Nuvei and owns derivative securities that stand to benefit from a drop in its share price. It remains to be seen whether Nuvei will face the same situation as Lightspeed, whose stock still trades at a fraction of its all-time high earlier this year. Spruce Point predicted a 40 to 60 per cent decline in Nuvei’s share price, arguing that the company has covered up past business failures, a lack of growth and relationships with people facing allegations of fraud. Nuvei didn’t respond to The Logic’s request for comment.