SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 5, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro's San Francisco filed a class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq:SPWRA) (Nasdaq:SPWRB). The 83-page lawsuit, filed jointly with co-counsel, seeks class status for all investors who purchased SunPower shares between April 17, 2008 and Nov. 16, 2009.
If you purchased more than 5,000 net shares during this Class Period contact plaintiff's counsel, Reed R. Kathrein by visiting www.hbsslawsecurities.com/spwra, calling 510.725.3000 or e-mailing spwra@hbsslaw.com. To serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than Jan. 19, 2010.
The claims asserted include charges based on recently revealed information and investigation that SunPower executives issued misleading quarterly financial reports for 2008 and 2009 and an annual report for fiscal year 2008. SunPower allegedly included unsubstantiated accounting entries relating to cost of goods sold in the company's Philippines operations as well as false and misleading certifications in previous financial reports. These inaccuracies allowed company stock to trade at artificially inflated prices.
SunPower released an update recently on its internal investigation which is conducted by the company's board of director's audit committee, with the assistance of outside legal and accounting experts. According to the statement issued by SunPower on December 15, 2009, the investigation to date is "consistent with the preliminary findings" announced in November.
On November 16, 2009, SunPower filed a report with the SEC stating that because of its accounting errors the previously issued financial statements for 2008 and 2009 were unreliable. News of this filing caused company stock to fall 19 percent, closing at $22.19 per share on Nov. 17, 2009.
Some financial analysts following the investigation continue to be skeptical, saying that while recent statements made by SunPower are consistent with initial reports made in November, the investigation is still ongoing. Gordon Johnson, analyst at Hapoalim Securities told TheStreet.com that, "if everything was rosy, they could have said they completed the investigation and found an error and it was isolated and things are not as bad as we expected," adding that the release news would have driven the stock back to $30.
Hagens Berman calls to represent investors in a class action lawsuit against SunPower Corporation. If you invested in more than 5,000 net shares of SunPower stock between April 17, 2008 and Nov. 16, 2009, you can participate in this action as a lead plaintiff with the goal of overseeing the fair and diligent prosecution of the case on behalf of the Class. More information is available at www.hbsslawsecurities.com/spwra.
About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a shareholder-rights law firm with offices in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Since 1993, HBSS has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for institutional and individual investors defrauded by unscrupulous management of publicly held corporations through tenacious legal representation. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com.