WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Law Office of Mark McNair announces that the lead plaintiff deadline is approaching with respect to the securities class action lawsuit that has been filed against First Horizon Pharmaceuticals ("First Horizon" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:FHRX). The complaint is on behalf of, and seeks damages for, shareholders who purchased the stock between April 24, 2002 and July 2, 2002.
The deadline for filing a Lead Plaintiff Motion is October 30, 2002.
To serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements. The lead plaintiff is a person or institution who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. The Law Office of Mark McNair recognizes that investors with significant losses often are uncertain about the class action process and they are unclear whether they should take an active role in a case. The Law Office of Mark McNair would be happy to review this process with you.
The lawsuit alleges that First Horizon violated the federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market. As a result of these misrepresentations, investors have sustained tremendous losses. On July 2, 2002, the Company shocked the market by revealing that it expected revenues of between $25 and $26 million and earnings per share between $0.00 and $0.02, excluding a $2.2 million debt write-off for the second quarter of 2002. For the full year, the Company revised its guidance to $0.34 a share, a substantial drop from its earlier guidance of $0.56 to $0.57 a share. Its July 2, 2002 press release attributed the massive shortfall mainly to "greater than expected erosion of sales in the second quarter of two of its products," Tanafed and Prenate GT, as well as "distraction" arising out of a sales force "realignment." This announcement had a devastating impact on First Horizon shareholders. Its stock plummeted 81%, falling $14.73 to close at $3.51 on volume of about 30 times its daily average.
If you have any questions, please contact Mark McNair at 1101 30th Street PN.W. Suite 500, Washington, D.C, 20007 by telephone at (877) 511.4717 or (202) 872.4717, via e-mail at mcnair@justice4investors.com or visit our website www.justice4investors.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca