BALA CYNWYD, Pa., June 27, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
A securities class action lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York claims that Pets.com, Inc. (formerly traded OTC Bulletin Board:IPET) ("Pets.com" or the "Company") misled shareholders about its business and financial condition.
Plaintiff seeks damages for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and/or the Securities Act of 1933) on behalf of all investors who bought Pets.com securities between March 7, 2000 through November 7, 2000 (the "Class Period").
Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP has prosecuted shareholder class actions for over fourteen years and has recovered more than $1 billion for investors. If you are a shareholder of Pets.com and want to learn more about this lawsuit and about becoming a lead plaintiff, you may visit our website at http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
The complaint alleges that Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. ("Merrill Lynch") and its former star Internet analyst and First Vice President of Merrill Lynch, Henry Blodget ("Blodget") violated the federal securities laws by issuing analyst reports regarding Pets.com that recommended the purchase of Pets.com common stock and which set price targets for Pets.com common stock, which were materially false and misleading and lacked any reasonable factual basis. The complaint further alleges that, when issuing their Pets.com analyst reports, the Defendants failed to disclose significant, material conflicts of interest, which resulted from their use of Blodget's reputation and his ability to issue favorable analyst reports, to obtain investment banking business for Merrill Lynch. Furthermore, in issuing their Pets.com analyst reports, in which they recommended the purchase of Pets.com stock, the Defendants failed to disclose material, non-public, adverse information which they possessed about Pets.com. Throughout the Class Period, the Defendants maintained "ACCUMULATE/ACCUMULATE" or "BUY/BUY" recommendations on Pets.com in order to obtain and support lucrative financial deal for Merrill Lynch. As a result of Defendants' false and misleading analyst reports, Pets.com's common stock traded at artificially inflated levels during the class period.
If you purchased Pets.com securities between March 7, 2000 through November 7, 2000, you may be a member of the class and have until July 9, 2002 to move the court to become a lead plaintiff. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the class, however, you do not need to take any action at this time. Should you decide to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, you may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or retain counsel of your choice.
To learn more about your rights and interests in this case and your ability to potentially recoup your losses, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) directly at 888-299-7706 (toll free) or 610-822-2221, fax number 610-822-0002, e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com or visit our website at www.sbclasslaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca