STEVENSON, MD -- (Marketwire) -- 09/16/11 -- Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Penson Worldwide, Inc. ("Penson" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: PNSN) during the period between February 10, 2011 and August 4, 2011, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you have suffered a net loss for all transactions in Penson common stock during the Class Period, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff by contacting Brower Piven at www.browerpiven.com, by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com, by calling 410/415-6616, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, 1925 Old Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland 21153. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 60 years.
No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than October 24, 2011 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the Company during the Class Period. You are not required to have sold your shares to seek damages or to serve as a Lead Plaintiff.
The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the Company's failure to disclose during the Class Period that by at least the end of 2010, the Company had approximately $96-97 million in receivables of which approximately $43 million were collateralized by illiquid securities and therefore unlikely to be collected such that they were materially overstated and should have been written down at least by the end of 2010 having the effect that the Company's reported income and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation, and excluding certain non-operating expenses) were materially overstated. According to the complaint, after, on May 9, 2011, Penson filed its quarterly report for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 indicating that the value of certain collateral (for certain receivables) might be impaired because it is in the form of illiquid securities issued by a troubled horse track and real estate project in Texas such that any resulting write down of a portion of the receivables could be material in amount; after, on May 12, 2011, Penson issued a press release disclosing more detail regarding non accruing receivables collateralized by securities with declining liquidity; and after, on August 4, 2011, Penson disclosed that "the Company recorded a non-cash write down of $43.0 million, equal to $26.7 million or ($0.94) per share net of tax, against $96.6 million of nonaccrual receivables. The write down was recorded in conjunction with Penson's initiation of foreclosure proceedings on the majority of the collateral underlying these receivables, including, but not solely related to, certain assets associated with the Retama Development Corporation, and shares of Penson Worldwide stock," the value of Penson stock declined significantly.
If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.
CONTACT:
Charles J. Piven
Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation
Stevenson, Maryland
410/415-6616
Email Contact