Monday, March 22, 2010

"Ormat faces class-action lawsuit over disclosures" (ORA)

From Northern Nevada Business Weekly:

Reno’s Ormat Technologies faces a class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders regarding its financial disclosures.

The suit, developed by a number of law firms nationwide, alleges that publicly held Ormat did not issue accurate and true financial statements, which caused investors to overvalue the company’s shares.

The company denies the complaints and says it plans a vigorous defense.

“If you bought stock in 2008 or 2009, you were buying stock at an inflated price because the company wasn’t doing as well as it statements said it was,” says Seth Ottensoser, partner with Bernstein Liebhard in New York. “The financial statements weren’t telling the truth about the company.”

The suit alleges that on Feb. 24, Ormat disclosed that it would restate its 2008 financial statements and said the 2008 statements could not be relied upon. The company also announced restatement of its financial statements for the three- and nine-month periods ended Sept. 30, 2009. The suit is filed on behalf of investors who bought the shares between May 6, 2008, and Feb. 24, 2010.

When Ormat announced restatement of its results, the price of the company’s tumbled 12 percent, or $4.25 per share, in three days trading on the New York Stock Exchange....MORE

Ha'aretz drily noted:

Ormat swings to profit, and gets sued for past results

The company will be holding it's "Analyst and Investor Day" conference on April 9.