BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of all purchasers of the publicly traded securities of Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Watson” or the “Company”) from November 2, 1999 through November 13, 2001, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
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 Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint alleges that Watson and certain of its officers and directors violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company’s business. 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 the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than January 12, 2004, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. You may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
CONTACT: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP Marc A. Topaz, Esq. Stuart L. Berman, Esq. Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 400, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706 Or by e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com
Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP
CONTACT: Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq. of Schiffrin &Barroway, LLP, +1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or +1-610-667-7706,info@sbclasslaw.com
Web site: http://www.sbclasslaw.com/
