LITTLE ROCK, Ark., June 20, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP announces that allegations in cases filed by it are supported by recent articles that have appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal about investigations by the United States Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission into the manipulation of IPOs. Among the underwriters named as defendants are: Credit Suisse First Boston Corp.; FleetBoston Robertson Stephens, Inc.; The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; Lehman Brothers, Inc.; Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc.; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.; BancBoston Robertson Stephens, Inc.; and Salomon Smith Barney, Inc.
The lawsuits allege that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing and selling common stock pursuant to the IPOs without disclosing to investors that some of the underwriters in the offering, including the lead underwriters, had solicited and received excessive and undisclosed commission from certain investors.
Specifically, the complaints allege that in exchange for the excessive commissions, defendants allocated shares to customers at the IPO price. To receive the allocations (i.e., the ability to purchase shares) at the IPO price, the underwriters' brokerage customers had to agree to purchase additional shares in the after-market at progressively higher prices. The requirement that customers make additional purchases at progressively higher prices as the price of IPO stock rocketed upward (a practice known on Wall Street as "laddering") was intended to (and did) drive the share price up to artificially high levels. This artificial price inflation enabled both the underwriters and their customers to reap enormous profits by buying the stock at the IPO price and then selling it later for a profit at inflated aftermarket prices.
Among the stocks alleged to have been manipulated were the shares of the following:
Corvis Corporation (Nasdaq:CORV) for the class period between July 27, 2000 and December 6, 2000, inclusive; Digimarc Corporation (Nasdaq:DMRC) for the class period between December 2, 1999 and December 6, 2000, inclusive; Digital Impact, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIGI) for the class period between November 22, 1999 and December 6, 2000, inclusive; and DoubleClick, Inc. (Nasdaq:DCLK) for the class period between February 20, 1998 and June 8, 2001, inclusive.
Plaintiffs in these actions are represented by Cauley Geller Bowman and Coates, LLP. If you bought the securities of any of the above securities during the respective class periods, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. 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 Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action. If you are a member of any of these classes, you can join the class action(s) online at http://www.classlawyer.com/sign_up.html.
Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP has substantial experience representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. The firm has offices in Florida, Arkansas and California, but represents shareholders from throughout the nation. If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm or visit the Firm's website at www.classlawyer.com.
CAULEY GELLER BOWMAN & COATES, LLP Client Relations Department: Jackie Addison, Sue Null or Charlie Gastineau P.O. Box 25438 Little Rock, AR 72221-5438 Toll Free: 1-888-551-9944 E-mail: info@classlawyer.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca