NEW YORK, April 18, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Brualdi Law Firm P.C. announces that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of purchasers of Walgreen Co. ("Walgreen" or the "Company") (NYSE:WAG) common stock during the period between June 25, 2007 and November 29, 2007 (the "Class Period").
No class has yet been certified in the above action. If you are a member of the proposed Class, you may, on or before June 14, 2008, ask the Court to allow you to serve as lead plaintiff for the proposed Class. To serve as a lead plaintiff, you must satisfy certain legal requirements. In making your decision, you should take into account that those with large financial losses resulting from the alleged federal securities law violations are given preference in being appointed lead plaintiff.
To be a member of the class you need not take any action at this time, and you may retain counsel of your choice. 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 Tali Leger, Director of Shareholder Relations at The Brualdi Law Firm P.C., 29 Broadway, Suite 2400, New York, New York 10006, by telephone toll free at (877) 495-1187 or (212) 952-0602, by email to tleger@brualdilawfirm.com or visit our website at http://www.brualdilawfirm.com/.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Walgreen was experiencing a steady decline in the growth of its core business -- filling retail drug prescriptions. Throughout the Class Period, defendants failed to disclose declining growth rates for the Company's generic prescription business and misled investors concerning the sustainability of Walgreen's profits and sales. According to the complaint, unbeknownst to Walgreen's public shareholders, underlying the erosion of Walgreen's earnings was a material contract dispute with one of the nation's largest third-party providers of prescription drug benefits -- CVS Caremark ("Caremark"). During 2007, Walgreen disputed Caremark's reimbursement rates for a number of prescription drug plans located primarily in the upper Midwestern U.S., which were negatively impacting the Company's earnings. On October 1, 2007, prior to the market opening, Walgreen issued a press release announcing its financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and fiscal year 2006. For the fourth quarter, the Company reported net income of $0.40 per share -- far below analysts' earnings expectations of $0.47 per share. In response to the announcement, the price of Walgreen stock declined from $47.00 per share to $39.96 per share, on extremely heavy trading volume.
Then, on November 29, 2007, Walgreen announced that "(a)fter many months" of dispute with Caremark over the reimbursement rates for four prescription plans, Walgreen withdrew as a pharmacy provider from the plans. Following this announcement, shares of Walgreen common stock declined to a new three-year low of $36.59 per share at the close of trading on November 30, 2007.