NEW YORK, April 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Roy Jacobs & Associates announces that it has commenced a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of St. Jude Medical, Inc. ("St. Jude" or the "Company") (NYSE:STJ) from January 25, 2006 through April 4, 2006 (the "Class Period"). Defendants include St. Jude and certain of its top officers and directors.
For further information you may call toll free, 1-888-884-4490, or contact counsel by e-mail by writing to classattorney@pipeline.com.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing false and incomplete financial information. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that defendants made misstatements and omitted information regarding the sales success and prospects of a key St. Jude product, its implantable cardioverter defibrillator systems (ICD's). The Complaint asserts that the Company pushed sales of ICD's into the fourth quarter of 2005 so as to inflate the stock price and achieve extraordinary personal benefits for top insiders, such as CEO Daniel J. Starks, who sold an unusual number of shares in the open market in the early months of 2006, and received a substantial boost in his compensation for 2005's performance, including a grant of 216,000 restricted shares worth (at the time) approximately $10 million.
The fraud was revealed on April 4, 2006 when St. Jude shocked the market by announcing that it would materially miss sales projections made just weeks earlier, but never previously updated or corrected. The Company also announced that it was undertaking an intensive customer review to determine the cause of its sales shortfall. On this announcement, St. Jude stock fell to $36.25 on April 4, 2006 on trading volume of 51.6 million shares, off $5.05 from the previous day's closing price of $41.30.
If you purchased St. Jude stock during the Class Period, you may qualify to serve as Lead Plaintiff on behalf of the Class, which consists of all persons and entities who purchased St. Jude stock from January 25, 2006 through April 4, 2006. You are not required to have sold your St. Jude stock in order to claim damages, or to serve in this role. All motions for appointment as Lead Plaintiff must be filed with the Court by June 9, 2006.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.