BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 8, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advertising Material -- The Shuman Law Firm today announced that a lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on behalf of all those who purchased the common stock of General Electric Company ("GE") (NYSE:GE) between March 12, 2008 and through April 10, 2008, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period GE made materially false and misleading statements regarding, among other things, the Company's 1Q08 earnings guidance, including earnings per share ("EPS"), the performance of GE's financial services division, the Company's sale of key real estate assets and the ability of the Company's Consumer and Industrial division and Healthcare division to sell certain products.
The complaint alleges that defendants provided a 1Q08 EPS guidance of $.50-.53, and FY08 guidance of $2.42 "or greater." This would represent EPS growth of 10% at a minimum. Despite repeated reassurance by GE directly to its investors, however, the complaint alleges that the Company shocked the market and its investors when it released its 1Q08 results on April 11, 2008. Instead of reporting a 1Q08 EPS of $0.50-0.53 and improving on 1Q07 results, as the Company had assured its investors that it would just weeks before, GE reported a significantly lower 1Q08 EPS of $0.43, down 2% from the 1Q07. As the market reacted to these disclosures, GE's stock declined $4.70 per share from $36.75 to close at $32.05 per share on volume of over 366 million shares, representing a 13% drop that wiped out approximately $47 billion in market value.
The complaint also alleges that defendants failed to disclose that GE's financial services division was underperforming prior representations and that GE's Consumer and Industrial and Healthcare Divisions were experiencing an inability to sell certain products and real estate assets of approximately $900 million.
If you purchased GE common stock during the Class Period and wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in the action, you must move the Court no later than September 29, 2008. While The Shuman Law Firm has not filed a lawsuit against the defendants, to view a copy of the Complaint initiating the class action or for more information about the case, class action cases in general, and your rights, please contact Kip Shuman, Esq. or Rusty Glenn, Esq. toll-free at 866-974-8626 or email Mr. Shuman at kip@shumanlawfirm.com or Mr. Glenn at rusty@shumanlawfirm.com.
The Shuman Law Firm has expertise in prosecuting investor securities litigation and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud. The Shuman Law Firm represents investors throughout the nation, concentrating its practice in securities class actions.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.globenewswire.com/ca