Feb. 12, 2013 (Shareholders Foundation) -- An investor in shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) filed a lawsuit against certain directors of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation over alleged breaches of fiduciary duties in connection with the stock options that have been awarded to the CEO.
The plaintiff alleges that defendants breached their fiduciary duties by awarding the CEO of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation 500,000 stock options in the FY 2012. The plaintiff claims that the bylaws of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation limit such grants to a maximum of 300,000 per year.

In fact, the compensation of certain top officials at Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation increased significantly between 2011 and 2012. For instance the President and CEO’s compensation rose from over $493,000 in 2011 to over $2.89 million in 2012 and the Executive VP, CFO and Treasurer’s pay increased from over $640,000 in 2011 to over $1.18 million in 2012.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation reported that its Total Revenue rose from $342.23 million for the 12 months period that ended on April 30, 2011 to $412.00 million for the 12 months period that ended on April 30, 2012 and that its Net Loss of $82.77 million for the 12 months period that ended on April 30, 2011 turned into a Net Income of $16.11 million for the 12 months period that ended on April 30, 2012.

Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) grew from as low as $2.52 per share in September 2011 to as high as $11.015 per share in September 2012.

On Feb. 8, 2013, NASDAQ:SWHC shares closed at $9.21 per share.