NEW YORK , July 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Roy Jacobs & Associates announced that it has served an amended class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of NBTY, Inc. ("NBTY" or the "Company") (NYSE:NTY) between April 22, 2004 and July 22, 2004, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). The amended complaint now expands the lawsuit to cover purchasers between June 17, 2004 and July 22, 2004, and continues to assert claims against NBTY and its top executives, Scott Rudolph and Harvey Kamil.
For further information you may call toll free, 888-884-4490, or contact Roy Jacobs & Associates by e-mail to classattorney@pipeline.com.
Before the truth was revealed, defendant Rudolph sold 400,000 NTY shares for proceeds of over $14 million, at prices ranging from $35-$37 per share, and defendant Kamil sold 157,000 NTY shares for proceeds of over $6 million at price ranging from $38-39 per share. With NTY shares at $19, innocent shareholders have seen a large part of their investment lost, and the market value of NTY has declined by more than a billion dollars.
The amended complaint alleges that Defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. It asserts that the Company issued false and misleading statements concerning its financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2004. On April 22, 2004, NBTY announced increased sales in that quarter for its various business segments, including its Direct Response segment, which sells products through catalogs and the Internet. The increased sales were attributed to "the Company's ability to more effectively target market its customer base." In truth, the results were due to special sales promotions, and not any generalized improvement in the Company's marketing abilities. Indeed, it is alleged that in the month of April sales in this segment dropped off 14% because the special promotion had ended. On June 17, 2004, NBTY shocked investors by announcing sales declines in the Direct Response segment of 12% for the months of April and May, sending shares plunging from a close of $36.50 the previous day to $26.99 on trading volume of 8.3 million shares. On that date, NBTY repeatedly said it could not address questions relating to the financial impact of its Rexall acquisition, purportedly because that acquisition had been fully integrated. On July 22, 2004, however, shareholders were surprised to learn that NBTY's third quarter results were adversely impacted by issues relating to the Rexall acquisition, including poor margins. NBTY shares dropped to approximately $19 per share on this news.
If you bought NBTY securities between April 22, 2004 and July 22, 2004, inclusive, you may qualify to serve as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff papers must be filed with the court no later than August 23, 2004.
More information on this and other class action lawsuits can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca