NEW YORK, April 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wechsler Harwood LLP today announced that it has filed a Federal Securities fraud class action on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Superconductor Technologies, Inc., (Nasdaq:SCON) ("Superconductor" or the "Company") between January 9, 2004 and March 1, 2004, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period").
The action, entitled Alvarez v. Superconductor Tech., Inc., et al., Case No. not yet assigned, is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (Western Division) and names as defendants, the Company, its President and Chief Executive Officer, M. Peter Thomas, and its Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Martin S. McDermut. A copy of the complaint can be obtained from the Court or can be viewed on Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The complaint charges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between January 9, 2004 and March 1, 2004, thereby artificially inflating the price of Superconductor's common stock. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company could not meet its projected first quarter revenues of $10 million and $13 million due to changes in demand made by two of the Company's customers; (2) that the defendants knew of the decreased demand for its product well in advance; and (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company and their earnings projections.
On March 1, 2004, Superconductor revealed that it expected first quarter 2004 total net revenues to reach only $4 million to $5 million. News of this shocked the market and shares of Superconductor fell $1.86 per share, or 45.4 percent to close at $2.23 per share.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired Superconductor securities during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by June 15, 2004. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wechsler Harwood, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in aggregate damages. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following: