HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 16, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm of Schatz & Nobel, P.C., which has significant experience representing investors in prosecuting claims of securities fraud, announces that a lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of all persons who purchased or acquired the publicly traded securities of The Cooper Companies, Inc. ("Cooper" or the "Company") (NYSE:COO) between July 29, 2004, and November 21, 2005, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). Also included are all those who acquired Cooper through its acquisition of Ocular Sciences, Inc. ("Ocular").
The Complaint alleges defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false statements regarding Cooper's business condition. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that: (i) Cooper improperly accounted for assets acquired in the Ocular merger, as reported in the Proxy Statement, by misclassifying intangible assets as tangible, which had the effect of lowering amortization expense; (ii) Cooper's aggressive earnings guidance reflected the improper accounting for intangible assets and was inflated by the amount of the understated amortization expense; (iii) the merger synergies touted by defendants were unrealistic; (iv) Ocular had stuffed the channel with its Biomedics products; (v) Cooper's lack of a two-week silicone hydrogel product would prevent it from meeting its aggressive growth targets for 2005 and beyond, contrary to defendants' repeated representations that the Company's Proclear product was competing favorably against the silicone hydrogel products; and (vi) Cooper and Ocular in fact competed in the two-week lens market.
When the truth emerged on November 21, 2005, and November 22, 2005, Cooper fell $21 per share, or 29%, to close at $51.47 per share on November 22, 2005. During the Class Period, insiders sold 1,970,233 shares of common stock for proceeds of $141,492,613.
If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than April 17, 2006, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class. A lead plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision whether or not to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important decisions which could affect the overall recovery for class members, including decisions concerning settlement. The securities laws require the Court to consider the class member(s) with the largest financial interest as presumptively the most adequate lead plaintiff(s).
While Schatz & Nobel has not filed a lawsuit against the defendants, to view a copy of the Complaint initiating the class action or for more information about the case, class action cases in general, and your rights, please contact Schatz & Nobel toll-free at (800) 797-5499, or by e-mail at sn06106@aol.com, or visit our website at www.snlaw.net.