(Reuters) Ascend Communications (NASDAQ:ASND) named in class action
Reuters, Wednesday, December 03, 1997 at 09:35
NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Lawyers representing plaintiffs
against Ascend Communications Inc said Wednesday they are
filing for class action status, alleging deceptive price
inflation of the computer networking company's stock.
The filing for class action status in the U.S. District
Court, Central District of California, covers investors who
bought Ascend's stock between November 5, 1996 and September
30, 1997.
The complaint, filed by the law firms Weiss & Yourman and
Stull Stull & Brody, alleges that officers and some directors
of Ascend, "engaged in an illegal scheme and deceptive course
of conduct designed to inflation Ascend's stock price through
positive statements concerning Ascend's business, earnings and
its growth prospects."
The complaint said the alleged positive statements were
made at the same time the "defendants knew, or recklessly
disregarded, but failed to disclose to investors, that sales of
Ascend's advanced modem products would all but cease because
of, among other things, serious software and firmware
problems."
The complaint also charges that the defendants' alleged
"course of conduct allowed Ascend to consummate a merger
transaction during the class period with Cascade Communications
Inc by exchanging overvalued Ascend stock for the stock of
Cascade." That transaction was completed on June 30.
Ascend Communications, based in Alameda, Calif., was not
presently available for comment.
Copyright 1997, Reuters News Service |
