News about ORCL:
REPEAT/Securities Class Action Suit Filed Against
Oracle Corporation, Its Chief Financial Officer and Its
Chief Operating Officer Alleging Misrepresentations
and Insider Trading
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 1997--A securities class action has been commenced on behalf of purchasers of the publicly-traded securities of Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq:ORCL - news; ''Oracle'') between April 29, 1997 and December 9, 1997 (the''Class Period'').
Plaintiffs charge Oracle and its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer with violations of the securities laws. Plaintiffs allege that during the Class Period defendants artificially inflated Oracle stock to a split-adjusted high of more than $42 per share based on representations that Oracle was experiencing revenue growth of 20%-25% in its core database business and 60+% in its applications business and that based on Oracle's strong revenue growth Oracle would generate strong EPS growth for the first half of fiscal 1998 (ending
November 30, 1997) and EPS of $1.10-$1.13 per share for fiscal 1998 (ending May 31,1998).
On September 16, 1997, Oracle released its results for the first fiscal quarter ended August 31, 1997, reporting growth in Oracle's core database much lower than previously claimed.
However, the complaint alleges that defendants continued to assure investors that Oracle's first quarter was merely an anomaly and the Company's strong growth in applications and database revenue was on track and that Oracle would generate EPS of $0.23 for the quarter ending November 30, 1997 and $1.10 for fiscal 1998.
However, on December 9, 1997, defendants were forced to reveal that, in fact, Oracle was seeing little if any growth in its applications and database revenue. Moreover, in certain areas,
such as domestic applications revenues, Oracle was actually experiencing declining revenues.
Oracle further disclosed that stagnating database and applications revenue meant that instead of Oracle generating EPS gains of at least 20% in fiscal 1998, Oracle would be lucky to generate
any growth in EPS at all during fiscal 1998. Oracle's stock immediately collapsed to $22 15/16 per share as the market digested this bad news.
Before the truth about Oracle's failures came out and Oracle's stock price collapsed, five Oracle insiders sold over 800,000 split-adjusted shares of their Oracle stock at artificially inflated prices as high as $38.86 per share, pocketing over $28 million in illegal insider trading
proceeds, including some $7 million in Oracle stock sold by COO Raymond Lane within weeks of Oracle's disastrous December 1997 announcement.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of the publicly-traded securities of Oracle during the Class Period (the ''Class''). Plaintiffs are represented by several law firms,
including Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, who have expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Milberg Weiss has been actively engaged in commercial litigation, emphasizing securities and antitrust class actions, for more than 20 years. The firm has offices in New York, San Diego,
San Francisco and Los Angeles and is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm's reputation for excellence has been recognized
on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm to major positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigations. Milberg Weiss has taken a lead role in numerous
important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total approximately $2 billion. Visit the firm's
website at milberg.com .
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiffs' counsel, William Lerach of Milberg Weiss at 800/449-4900
or via e-mail at wsl@mwbhl.com . |
