ProQuestCohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll represents a lead plaintiff in this securities class action, which is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The Plaintiffs in this case seek to certify a class of persons who purchased ProQuest Company (NYSE: PQE) common stock during the period from February 20, 2001 through April 27, 2006. The Plaintiffs allege that, during the class period, the Defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the company’s business and financial results and that, as a result of these false statements, ProQuest stock traded at artificially inflated prices. Then, on February 9, 2006 ProQuest announced that it had discovered "material irregularities in its accounting" which would require it to restate certain of its previously issued financial statements. On this news ProQuest’s stock dropped 18%, from $29.41 to $24.19 per share. Then, on April 28, 2006, ProQuest disclosed information on the expected magnitude of the planned restatement and that it was also investigating the propriety of its revenue recognition policies. The market reacted to this second round of unexpected bad news by driving down ProQuest stock by 28%, from $21.72 to $15.70 per share. According to the complaint filed by the Plaintiffs, the Defendants knew or recklessly disregarded the true facts that were concealed from the public. The Plaintiffs allege that, during the class period, ProQuest’s reported financial results were not accurate because the company lacked adequate internal controls and because its financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). |
