Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP
("Lerach Coughlin") (http://www.lerachlaw.com/cases/impacmortgage/)
today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United
States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf
of purchasers of Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. ("Impac Mortgage")
(NYSE:IMH) publicly traded securities during the period between May
13, 2005 and August 9, 2005 (the "Class Period").
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from January 10, 2006. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, William Lerach or Darren Robbins of Lerach Coughlin at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at wsl@lerachlaw.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.lerachlaw.com/cases/impacmortgage/. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Impac Mortgage and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Impac Mortgage operates as a mortgage real estate investment trust, which engages in the acquisition, origination, sale, and securitization of nonconforming Alt-A mortgages.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business and prospects, including its projected taxable income and projected dividend payouts, which were of critical importance to the market, causing the Company's stock to trade at artificially inflated prices of as high as $22.07 per share.
On August 9, 2005, Impac Mortgage announced that it had posted a net loss of $55 million, or $(0.78) per share, versus a profit of $143.2 million or $2.17 per share. The Company also announced that it was forecasting a cut in its dividend from $0.75 per share to $0.50-$0.60 per share in Q3 2005. In reaction to this news, shares of Impac Mortgage fell $2.39 per share, or 14.6%, on August 10, 2005, to close at $13.98 per share. Prior to these revelations, the Company's top officers and directors sold shares of their personal Impac Mortgage stock for $5 million in proceeds.
The true facts, which were known by each of the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) that the Company had no ability to achieve the Company's projections for Q3-Q4 2005; (b) that even as the Company was projecting Q3 2005 taxable EPS in excess of $.50, defendants knew that key metrics like the rate of "prepayments" had already limited the Company's projected profitability and had impacted the Company's ability to cover its Q3 2005 dividend of $.45; (c) that the Company failed to properly account for the fair value of its derivative instruments; (d) that the Company's margins were negatively impacted by the rise in short-term interest rates and, as a result, Impac Mortgage would not be able to sustain its dividend payouts; (e) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls; and (f) that as a result of the above, the Company's Q3 and Q4 2005 projections were grossly overstated, and equally false were the Company's statements concerning the Company's concealment of mark-to-market accounting losses which ultimately required a charge of nearly $100 million.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Impac Mortgage publicly traded securities during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Lerach Coughlin, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Lerach Coughlin, a 160-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston, Philadelphia and Seattle, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. Lerach Coughlin lawyers have been responsible for more than $20 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Lerach Coughlin Web site (http://www.lerachlaw.com) has more information about the firm.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from January 10, 2006. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, William Lerach or Darren Robbins of Lerach Coughlin at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at wsl@lerachlaw.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.lerachlaw.com/cases/impacmortgage/. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Impac Mortgage and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Impac Mortgage operates as a mortgage real estate investment trust, which engages in the acquisition, origination, sale, and securitization of nonconforming Alt-A mortgages.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business and prospects, including its projected taxable income and projected dividend payouts, which were of critical importance to the market, causing the Company's stock to trade at artificially inflated prices of as high as $22.07 per share.
On August 9, 2005, Impac Mortgage announced that it had posted a net loss of $55 million, or $(0.78) per share, versus a profit of $143.2 million or $2.17 per share. The Company also announced that it was forecasting a cut in its dividend from $0.75 per share to $0.50-$0.60 per share in Q3 2005. In reaction to this news, shares of Impac Mortgage fell $2.39 per share, or 14.6%, on August 10, 2005, to close at $13.98 per share. Prior to these revelations, the Company's top officers and directors sold shares of their personal Impac Mortgage stock for $5 million in proceeds.
The true facts, which were known by each of the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) that the Company had no ability to achieve the Company's projections for Q3-Q4 2005; (b) that even as the Company was projecting Q3 2005 taxable EPS in excess of $.50, defendants knew that key metrics like the rate of "prepayments" had already limited the Company's projected profitability and had impacted the Company's ability to cover its Q3 2005 dividend of $.45; (c) that the Company failed to properly account for the fair value of its derivative instruments; (d) that the Company's margins were negatively impacted by the rise in short-term interest rates and, as a result, Impac Mortgage would not be able to sustain its dividend payouts; (e) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls; and (f) that as a result of the above, the Company's Q3 and Q4 2005 projections were grossly overstated, and equally false were the Company's statements concerning the Company's concealment of mark-to-market accounting losses which ultimately required a charge of nearly $100 million.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Impac Mortgage publicly traded securities during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Lerach Coughlin, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Lerach Coughlin, a 160-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston, Philadelphia and Seattle, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. Lerach Coughlin lawyers have been responsible for more than $20 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Lerach Coughlin Web site (http://www.lerachlaw.com) has more information about the firm.
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