NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross LLP announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Edwards Lifesciences Corporation ("Edward Lifesciences" or the "Company") (NYSE:EW) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, and docketed under SACV13-1666-BRO-DFMx, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Edwards Lifesciences between April 25 2012 and April 23, 2013 both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against the Company and certain of its officers and directors as a result of alleged violations of the federal securities laws pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Edwards Lifesciences securities during the Class Period, you have until November 18, 2013 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x237. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
Edwards Lifesciences is a medical device maker that designs and markets, among other things, artificial heart valves for implantation in patients with advanced cardiovascular disease. The Company offers a range of such valves, including both valves that require traditional open-chest surgery, and its newer SAPIEN line of transcatheter heart valves ("THYs"), which may be implanted using a minimally invasive procedure.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose and/or misrepresented adverse facts, including that: (1) adoption of SAPIEN was weaker than the Company claimed due to concerns among physicians over the risks and complexity of the procedure for implanting the valve; (2) Edwards Lifesciences' outlook for sales and earnings per share ("EPS") was significantly weaker than the optimistic guidance Defendants offered to investors; and (3) as a result, Defendants lacked a reasonable basis for the statements made concerning the Company's operations, forecasts, and outlook.
On October 8, 2012, Edwards Lifesciences issued a press release announcing weak preliminary financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, stating in relevant part, that "transcatheter heart valve sales were below expectations." Michael A. Mussallem, Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of Edwards Lifesciences, attributed these surprisingly poor results to austerity measures in Europe, and reimbursement uncertainty and physicians' summer vacations in the United States.
On April 23, 2013, the Company disclosed that approximately 20 candidate hospitals had postponed SAPIEN training, that there was substantially no backlog of patients awaiting SAPIEN implants, and that the Company's financial results had been and would likely continue to be weaker than estimates. On this news, Edwards Lifesciences shares fell $18.21 per share, or 21.99%, to close at $64.60 per share on April 24, 2013.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and San Diego, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.