SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national investor-rights law firm, reminds investors of the upcoming Lead Plaintiff Deadline in the lawsuit against Rayonier, Inc. (NYSE:RYN) ("Rayonier" or "the Company"). The suit is pending in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and investors have until January 12, 2015 to move for lead plaintiff.
The complaint was filed on behalf of investors who purchased RYN securities between January 27, 2014 and November 10, 2014 (the "Class Period"). If you purchased shares of Rayonier during the Class Period, you may contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm's investigation, by calling (510) 725-3000, emailing RYN@hbsslaw.com or visiting http://hb-securities.com/investigations/RYN. No class has been certified in this case. Any member of the Class who purchased shares in the relevant time period may ask the Court to appoint them as lead plaintiff.
Rayonier specializes in the management, development, and sales of timberland as well as the production of cellulose fibers in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Rayonier made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. The Company specifically failed to disclose that its financial statements overstated its estimated merchantable timber inventory volumes by including timber in specially designated parcels located in restricted, environmentally sensitive, or economically inaccessible areas.
When this information was revealed, on November 10, 2014, Rayonier admitted that the mis-inclusion of this timber was incorrect, inconsistent with Rayonier's historical definition of merchantable timber inventory, and a significant change from prior practice. As a result of the overstatement, the Company's financial statements understated depletion expense in cost of goods sold by approximately $2.0 million in each of the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2014, and June 30, 2014. This in turn resulted in a corresponding overstatement of income from continuing operations of $1.9 million and $2.0 million, respectively, in those periods. Additionally, the Company admitted that there was a material weakness in Rayonier's internal controls related to financial reporting as of December 31, 2013, March 31, 2014, and June 30, 2014; and as a result, Rayonier's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
When the Company finally disclosed this information by issuing a press release and filing a Form 8-K with the SEC, shares of Rayonier fell $5.08 or almost 15%, to close at $28.82 on November 10, 2014.
"The question here is why did Rayonier break with their usual inventory classification procedures?" said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein. "It looks to be another instance of a large company attempting to profit from inflated share price at the expense of their investors."
If you suffered a loss from your investment in Rayonier stock purchased between January 27, 2014 and November 10, 2014, and would like to learn more about this lawsuit and your ability to participate as a lead plaintiff, please contact us for your no-cost evaluation. No class has yet been certified in the above action.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Rayonier should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at (510) 725-3000 or email RYN@hbsslaw.com.
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is an investor-rights class-action law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington with offices in nine cities. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Read the firm's Securities Newsletter at http://www.hb-securities.com/newsletter. The firm's blog is located at www.meaningfuldisclosure.com.
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