LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Jan. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Emerson Poynter LLP (www.emersonpoynter.com), a national law firm with offices in Houston, TX, Little Rock, AR, and Seattle, WA, announced today that a class action has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona on behalf of purchasers of TASER International, Inc. ("TASER") (Nasdaq:TASR) publicly traded securities during the period between May 29, 2003 and January 10, 2005 (the "Class Period"). TASER develops and manufactures less-lethal self-defense devices. At the end of 2003, TASER had more than 4,300 U.S. law enforcement agencies deploying one of its TASER brand weapon platforms.
The Complaint alleges that the Company violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the Company issued a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market concerning the safety of its TASER guns. The Complaint also alleges the Defendants engaged in channel stuffing at the end of the fourth quarter of 2004 in order to meet sales projections and analyst's expectations.
On January 6, 2005, after the market closed, the Company announced that it had received an informal inquiry letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") regarding the Company's statements concerning the safety of its products and a $1.5 million order of TASER devices received from one of its distributors, which was booked in late December 2004. As a result of the January 6 announcement, shares of TASER's common stock fell $4.90, or 18%, to close at $22.72 per share. TASER further shocked investors on January 11, 2005, when it announced that orders for the first half of 2005 may be delayed while law enforcement agencies test competitors' products. As a result of this news, shares of the Company's common stock fell an additional $5.95, or 30%, to close at $14.10 per share. Also, during the Class Period, Defendants engaged in massive insider trading selling over one million shares valued in excess of $64 million dollars.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired the common securities during the Class Period you may, no later than March 11, 2005 move the Court to 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 lead plaintiff. You may retain Emerson Poynter LLP or other counsel of your choice.
If you are a member of the Class please contact Emerson Poynter LLP. You may contact our shareholder relations department via email (epllp@emersonpoynter.com) or by calling 1-800-663-9817.