NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2003--Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed on December 2, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, on behalf of all persons who purchased common stock of Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Watson”) (NYSE:WPI - News) between November 2, 1999 and November 13, 2001, inclusive (the “Class Period”) against Watson and certain of its officers and directors.
The complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between November 2, 1999 and November 13, 2001, thereby artificially inflating the price of Watson common stock. In particular, the Complaint alleges that defendants’ statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material facts: (a) that Watson was materially overstating its financial results by failing to write down the value of its inventories and the value of certain of the Company’s assets; (b) that Watson was experiencing significantly increased competition for generic drugs and was also experiencing manufacturing difficulties; and (c) that based on the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about the Company were lacking in a reasonable basis at all times and were therefore materially false and misleading. Prior to the disclosure of the true facts about the Company, defendants used millions of shares of Watson common stock to acquire other businesses.
On November 13, 2001, Watson shocked the market when it announced its financial results for third quarter 2001 which were well below expectations. Furthermore, the Company announced that it was writing off almost all of its investment in Dilacor XR and that the Company was writing off over $20 million in additional impaired inventory. In response to this negative announcement, the price of Watson common stock plummeted, trading down almost $20 per share, to close trading at $28.54 per share, compared to the prior day’s close of $47.15 per share, on tremendous volume of over 15.3 million shares traded - almost 20 times the average trading volume for Watson shares.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by, among others, the law firm of Stull, Stull & Brody. Stull, Stull & Brody has litigated many class actions for violations of securities laws in federal courts over the past 30 years and has obtained court approval of substantial settlements on numerous occasions.
If you acquired Watson common stock between November 2, 1999 and November 13, 2001, you may, no later than January 12, 2004, request the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as “lead plaintiff.” Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Stull, Stull & Brody, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Tzivia Brody, Esq. at Stull, Stull & Brody by calling toll-free 1-800-337-4983, or by e-mail at SSBNY@aol.com, or by fax at 212/490-2022, or by writing to Stull, Stull & Brody, 6 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017.
Contact:
Stull, Stull & Brody Tzivia Brody, Esq., 1-800-337-4983 SSBNY@aol.com
Source: Stull, Stull & Brody