HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 9, 2004 Legal news, law news, law firm news & research at LAWFUEL— The law firm of Schatz & Nobel,
P.C., which has significant experience representing investors in prosecuting
claims of securities fraud, announces that a lawsuit seeking class action
status has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York on behalf of all persons who purchased the publicly
traded securities of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (Nasdaq: TARO)
(“Taro”) between February 20, 2003 and January 29, 2004, inclusive (the “Class
Period”).
The Complaint alleges that Taro and certain of its officers and directors
issued materially false statements concerning Taro’s business condition.
Specifically, Taro failed to disclose the following adverse facts: (i)
defendants were unable to maintain profitability in Taro’s generic drug
division or generate free cash flow from the introduction of proprietary
products sufficient to offset the expense of its new product launches; (ii)
defendants had failed to properly record the full expense of developing new
proprietary drug products, such that it was materially misleading for
defendants to state that the roll-out of Taro’s new proprietary drugs was not
and would not adversely affect Taro’s near- or long-term profitability; (iii)
defendants understated the negative effects of increasing competition on
Taro’s financial performance; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing,
defendants lacked any reasonable basis to claim that Taro was operating
according to plan or that Taro could maintain profitability in the near-term.
The truth emerged on July 29, 2004 when Taro announced a second-quarter
loss of $0.31 per share, far below the Company-guided analyst consensus
estimate of $0.44 per share earnings, and that drug sales had dropped to $49.1
million from $74.8 million in the prior second quarter. On this news, Taro’s
share price fell more than $11.50 per share to $18.68 per share.
If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than October 4, 2004
request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class. A lead
plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other class members in
directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in any recovery is
not affected by the decision whether or not to seek appointment as a lead
plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important decisions which could affect the
overall recovery for class members, including decisions concerning settlement.
The securities laws require the Court to consider the class member(s) with the
largest financial interest as presumptively the most adequate lead
plaintiff(s).
For more information about the case, its claims, and your rights, please
contact Schatz & Nobel toll-free at (800) 797-5499, or by e-mail at
sn06106@aol.com. To view a copy of the lawsuit initiating the class action,
or for more information about class action cases and Schatz & Nobel, please
visit our website: http://www.snlaw.net.
CONTACT: Nancy A. Kulesa
Tel.: (800) 797-5499
Website: http://www.snlaw.net
e-mail: sn06106@aol.com
