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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SouthFloridaGuy who wrote (51968)	4/21/2001 1:41:45 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Respond to of 77397

The finger-pointing starts: April 20, 2001 Holder Suit Alleges Cisco Violated Securities Laws By DAN GOODIN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL A San Diego law firm said it filed a shareholder suit against Cisco Systems Inc., alleging that the company violated securities laws by disseminating false and misleading information about Cisco's products, financial results and prospects. The firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach said it filed the suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeking class-action status on behalf of Cisco investors. The complaint alleges that John Chambers, the company's chief executive officer, and other top executives misled investors over an 18 month period from August, 1999 to early February of this year. In all, the executives made $595 million by selling Cisco stock over the period by more than $80 a share, according to the suit. Cisco officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Cisco's stock has since plummeted as spending on networking equipment has slid and management missteps have come to light. On Monday, Cisco warned it would deliver lower-than expected profits and would have to write off more than $2.5 billion in inventories. At 4 p.m. on Friday, Cisco closed at $19.15, up 24 cents, on the Nasdaq Stock market. "It's one of the most and egregious instances of insider trading by corporate executives that we've ever encountered," said William Lerach, one of the attorneys who filed the suit. Some of the allegations in the 54-page suit focus on the San Jose, Calif., company's practice during the 18-month period of lending Internet providers and local phone companies money on the condition they buy routers and other gear made by Cisco. The arrangement allowed Cisco to log earnings for every quarter of that time even as it misjudged customer demand and shipped defective or incomplete products, the lawsuit, the suit alleges. "Defendants' misconduct has wiped out over $400 billion in market capitalization as Cisco stock has fallen 84% from its Class Period high of $82 per share as the truth about Cisco, its operations and prospects began to reach the market," the suit alleges.