Lawsuit Overview
May 11, 2016 - The court granted defendants' motion to dismiss.
October 14, 2014 - Defendants filed a motion to dismiss.
August 12, 2014 - The lead plaintiffs filed an amended consolidated complaint on behalf of investors who purchased Weight Watchers International Inc (NYSE: WTW) common shares between February 14, 2012 and February 13, 2013. The lead plaintiffs allege that the defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false and misleading statements between February 14, 2012 and February 13, 2013.
June 9, 2014 - The lead plaintiffs and lead counsel were appointed and all cases were consolidated.
May 20, 2014 - Lead plaintiff motions were filed.
March 21, 2014 - An investor in shares of Weight Watchers International Inc (NYSE: WTW) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws by Weight Watchers International Inc in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements made between February 14, 2012 and October 30, 2013.
According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Weight Watchers International Inc (NYSE: WTW) between February 14, 2012 and October 30, 2013, that Weight Watchers International Inc and certain of its officers and directors violated Federal Securities Laws pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.
More specifically, the plaintiff claims that between February 14, 2012 and October 30, 2013 defendants issued allegedly materially false and misleading statements regarding Weight Watchers International Inc’s financial performance and future prospects and failed to disclose adverse facts, including that Weight Watchers International Inc was experiencing execution issues which were causing it to miss its internally forecasted financial plan, that Weight Watchers International Inc was experiencing a significant drop in its North America and United Kingdom meeting attendance figures, and that Weight Watchers International Inc was facing increased competition from free weight-loss apps and its enrollment was being negatively impacted.
On February 14, 2012, Weight Watchers International Inc announced results for its fourth quarter and full-year 2011, and provided full-year 2012 earnings guidance. In addition, Weight Watchers International Inc announced that it planned to launch a “modified Dutch auction” tender offer the following week for up to $720 million of its common stock with a price range between $72 and $83 per share, and that it separately had agreed to purchase shares held by its controlling shareholder, Artal Group, S.A., at the same price paid in the tender offer. The tender offer closed on March 22, 2012.
Earlier that month, the plaintiff alleges that certain defendants exercised large quantities of options in the $42-$53 per share range, and sold large quantities of Weight Watchers International Inc shares on the open market for $80-$82 per share. The plaintiff says that on March 22, 2012, those defendants also tendered shares to the Company for $82 per share and received combined gross proceeds on shares sold of approximately $11 million.
On April 9, 2012, per the terms of the tender offer, Artal Group, S.A., sold 9.5 million shares at $82 per share, for total proceeds of $779 million.
On May 2, 2012, Weight Watchers International Inc announced its results for its 2012 first quarter and revised downward its full-year 2012 earnings guidance that it had previously provided on February 14, 2012.
On February 13, 2013, Weight Watchers International Inc announced its fourth quarter 2012 financial results and providing full-year fiscal 2013 earnings guidance.
On August 1, 2013, Weight Watchers International Inc announced its second quarter 2013 financial results and revived its fiscal 2013 guidance. In a separate filing with the SEC Weight Watchers International Inc announced that David Kirchhoff notified the board of directors of Weight Watchers International Inc of his resignation as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of Weight Watchers International Inc, effective July 30, 2013, in order to pursue other opportunities.
Then on October 30, 2013, Weight Watchers International Inc announced its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013, disclosing that year-over-year quarterly revenues had declined 8.5% and that quarterly net income had decreased by 10.5% and fully-diluted quarterly earnings per share had declined 11.2% from the same period the prior year. In addition, Weight Watchers International Inc announced that it had indefinitely suspended its dividend.
Shares of Weight Watchers International Inc (NYSE: WTW) declined from $$80.73 per share to $32.11 per share on October 31, 2013 and continued to decline to as low as $20.37 per share on March 21, 2014.