NEW YORK, July 26, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- A class action Complaint has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, civil action number 02-11514 GAO, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased PerkinElmer, Inc. ("PerkinElmer" or the "Company") (NYSE:PKI) between July 15, 2001 and April 11, 2002, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). PerkinElmer Inc., Gregory L. Summe, and Robert F. Friel are named as defendants in this action.
To discuss this action, this announcement, or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Eric J.Belfi or Sharon Lee, Rabin & Peckel LLP, 275 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, by telephone at (800) 497-8076 or (212) 682-1818, by facsimile at (212) 682-1892, or by e-mail at email@rabinlaw.com.
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 publicly issuing a series of material misrepresentations during the Class Period, thereby artificially inflating the price of PerkinElmer securities. According to the complaint, PerkinElmer issued numerous press releases regarding its performance during the Class Period which represented that the Company was successfully growing its revenues and earnings, that the Company's transformation into a provider of health-related products and services was proceeding successfully and that the Company would meet its financial performance targets for 2002. The complaint further alleges that these, and other representations were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose that PerkinElmer was experiencing a decline in the demand for its products, especially at its Optoeletronics division, the Company was carrying tens of millions of dollars of obsolete inventory on its books and the Company's expenses were soaring due to the spate of numerous acquisitions and divestitures it had undertaken. On March 1, 2002, PerkinElmer issued a press release revealing that first quarter of 2002 revenues and earnings would be materially less than the Company had represented its figures would be only three weeks earlier. In reaction to the announcement, the price of PerkinElmer's common stock plummeted by 31%. The full truth regarding PerkinElmer's business was not fully disclosed until April 11, 2002, when the Company issued a press release revealing that its reported earnings will be breakeven, instead of the figure of $0.16-$0.17 per share that the Company had stated, on March 1, it expected to earn, and that its revenues will decline in the first quarter of 2002 because of weakness in all of its divisions. In reaction to the announcement, PerkinElmer's stock plummeted by another 28%, falling from $16.70 per share on April 10, 2002 to $12.04 by the close of April 11, on extremely heavy trading volume. The individual defendants and other PerkinElmer insiders sold a total of 595,000 PerkinElmer common stock during the Class Period, reaping gross proceeds in excess of $18.4 million and the Company completed a significant acquisition using its common stock as currency.
Plaintiff is represented by the law firm of Rabin & Peckel LLP. Rabin & Peckel LLP and its predecessor firms have devoted its practice to shareholder class actions and complex commercial litigation for more than thirty years and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders in class actions throughout the United States. You can learn more information about Rabin & Peckel LLP at www.rabinlaw.com.
If you purchased PerkinElmer during the Class Period described above, you may, no later than September 6, 2002, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff. To serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. You can join this action as a lead plaintiff online at www.rabinlaw.com. Contact plaintiffs' counsel Eric J. Belfi or Sharon Lee of Rabin & Peckel LLP to further discuss this action, this announcement, or your rights or interests.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.