BALA CYNWYD, Pa., March 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- 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 District of Delaware on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of AstroPower Inc. ("AstroPower" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:APWR) from February 22, 2002 through August 1, 2002, 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 charges that defendants AstroPower, Allen M. Barnett (CEO and President) and Thomas J. Stiner (CFO) violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market between February 22, 2002 and August 1, 2002. The complaint alleges that AstroPower develops, manufactures, markets and sells a range of solar electric power generation products.
The complaint further alleges that the company claimed that it was well positioned to take advantage of the increasing demand for solar power products. The complaint further alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the Company reported strong revenue and earnings growth and that, as a result of these statements and reports, which were disseminated to the investing public, and which formed the basis for research analysts' reports on the Company, the Company's per share stock price reached a Class Period high of $27 on March 28, 2002.
In truth and in fact, throughout the Class Period, the Company was unable to effectively manage its expanding and increasingly complex operations; it was, inter alia, unable to allocate resources among its various manufacturing facilities to effectively meet regional demand or to tailor its production capacity to actual demand. Consequently, during the time that the Company was stating that it was well positioned to take advantage of the increased demand for solar products, it was in fact losing ground to more effective competitors.
Additionally, to maintain the illusion that its operations were successful, the Company throughout the Class Period reported artificially inflated revenue and earnings by, inter alia, recording revenue in advance of shipment, contrary to its stated principles of revenue recognition.
The truth was revealed on August 1, 2002 when, after the close of trading, the Company announced its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2002. Analysts were stunned. Reported revenue and net income had not grown but, on the contrary, second quarter income was $365,000, or $0.02 per diluted share compared to $1.7 million, or $0.07 per diluted share in the year-earlier second quarter and revenue of $20.4 million represented only a one percent increase over reported revenue for the prior quarter and was approximately $4.9 million below analysts' consensus estimate. On this news, AstroPower's share price plunged 48%, or $7.12, to $7.77, its lowest price in almost three years.
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/cgi/signup.cgi.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than May 6, 2003, 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.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca