ATLANTA, April 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley LLP announces that a class action lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, against Cerner Corporation, ("Cerner" or the "Company"), (Nasdaq:CERN). The suit was filed on behalf of purchasers of the publicly traded securities of Cerner Corp. between January 23, 2003 and April 2, 2003, inclusive ("Class Period").
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 issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between January 23, 2003 and April 2, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Cerner common stock. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (a) that the Company was experiencing an increased level of competition as competitors slashed prices in order to take business from the Company. As a result, the Company was losing a material amount of sales to competitors; (b) that certain of the Company's clients were delaying or deferring the purchase of products from the Company or determining not to proceed with those purchases at all; (c) that the Company had reorganized its sales force and that the reorganization was negatively impacting the ability of the Company to close certain sales; and (d) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' earnings projections were lacking in a reasonable basis at all times and were materially false and misleading.
On April 3, 2003, Cerner shocked the market by announcing that "it expects its first quarter 2003 revenue and earnings to be below expectations because of a lower level of new business bookings in the quarter." The press release further revealed that the Company expected bookings for the first quarter of 2003 to be between $145 and $150 million and that earnings would be between $0.13 to $0.15 per share as compared to analysts' earnings estimates of $0.38 per share. The market reacted swiftly to this news, pushing the price of Cerner common stock down over 45%, to close at $17.63 on extremely heavy trading volume.
Chitwood & Harley LLP is currently investigating these claims. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, you may contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com. You may also contact us through our website, www.classlaw.com by clicking on Cerner. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this action, you must file a motion to do so no later than June 2, 2003. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of his or her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. A complaint is available from the court or can be emailed to you upon request.
Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in the highest recovery last year in a securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."
For more information about Chitwood & Harley LLP, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com or contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free), by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com or at 1230 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca