NEW YORK, April 14, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wechsler Harwood LLP today announced that it has filed a Federal Securities fraud class action on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Nokia OYJ (Nokia Corp.) (NYSE:NOK) ("Nokia" or the "Company") between January 8, 2004 and April 6, 2004, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period").
The action, entitled Chu v. Nokia Corp, et al., Case No. not yet assigned, is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and names as defendants, the company, its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jorma Ollila, its President, Pekka Ala-Pietila, its Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Richard Simonson, and its Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Matti Alahuhta, A copy of the complaint can be obtained from the Court or can be viewed on Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The complaint charges defendants with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. More specifically, the complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants issued numerous statements to the market concerning the Company's financial results, which failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that the Company's market share for its handsets was eroding; (2) that this was due to its failure to introduce attractive handsets (a GSM clamshell model) in key middle-markets such as the United States, Asia, and Europe; (3) that sales of networking equipment were worse than expected due to market erosion of Nokia's products; (4) that the Company's new reorganization to four operating divisions did not energize the Company but rather reduced responsiveness to its business problems and caused the Company to experience operational effectiveness; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company and their earnings projections.
On April 6, 2004, Nokia announced that its first quarter 2004 net sales would be below guidance. Nokia's net sales for the first quarter 2004 were estimated to be EUR 6.6 billion, representing a decline of 2% compared to the first quarter 2003 (vs. guidance of up 3-7%). News of this shocked the market. Shares of Nokia on the NYSE fell 18.6%, or $3.94 per share, to close at $17.21 per share, down nearly 27% from their 52-week high of $23.52 per share in early March 2004. Additionally, shares of Nokia on the Helsinki exchange dropped 17.1% to 14.38 euros ($17.39).
If you purchased or otherwise acquired AaiPharma securities during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by June 7, 2004. 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 Wechsler Harwood, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400