BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 8, 2008 (LAWFUEL) — The Shuman Law Firm today announced that a lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on behalf of all those who purchased the common stock of General Electric Company (“GE”) (NYSE:GE) between March 12, 2008 and through April 10, 2008, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period GE made materially
false and misleading statements regarding, among other things, the
Company’s 1Q08 earnings guidance, including earnings per share (“EPS”),
the performance of GE’s financial services division, the Company’s sale
of key real estate assets and the ability of the Company’s Consumer and
Industrial division and Healthcare division to sell certain products.
The complaint alleges that defendants provided a 1Q08 EPS guidance of
$.50-.53, and FY08 guidance of $2.42 “or greater.” This would represent
EPS growth of 10% at a minimum. Despite repeated reassurance by GE
directly to its investors, however, the complaint alleges that the
Company shocked the market and its investors when it released its 1Q08
results on April 11, 2008. Instead of reporting a 1Q08 EPS of
$0.50-0.53 and improving on 1Q07 results, as the Company had assured
its investors that it would just weeks before, GE reported a
significantly lower 1Q08 EPS of $0.43, down 2% from the 1Q07. As the
market reacted to these disclosures, GE’s stock declined $4.70 per
share from $36.75 to close at $32.05 per share on volume of over 366
million shares, representing a 13% drop that wiped out approximately
$47 billion in market value.
The complaint also alleges that defendants failed to disclose that GE’s
financial services division was underperforming prior representations
and that GE’s Consumer and Industrial and Healthcare Divisions were
experiencing an inability to sell certain products and real estate
assets of approximately $900 million.
If you purchased GE common stock during the Class Period and wish to
serve as a lead plaintiff in the action, you must move the Court no
later than September 29, 2008. While The Shuman Law Firm has not filed
a lawsuit against the defendants, to view a copy of the Complaint
initiating the class action or for more information about the case,
class action cases in general, and your rights, please contact Kip
Shuman, Esq. or Rusty Glenn, Esq. toll-free at 866-974-8626 or email
Mr. Shuman at kip@shumanlawfirm.com or Mr. Glenn at
rusty@shumanlawfirm.com.
The Shuman Law Firm has expertise in prosecuting investor securities
litigation and extensive experience in actions involving financial
fraud. The Shuman Law Firm represents investors throughout the nation,
concentrating its practice in securities class actions.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the
Class Action Newsline at www.globenewswire.com/ca
