SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP (“Robbins Geller”) (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/acadiahealthcare/) today announced that a class action has been commenced by an institutional investor on behalf of all purchasers of Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (“Acadia” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:ACHC) publicly traded securities during the period between February 23, 2017 and October 24, 2017 (the “Class Period”). This action was filed in the Middle District of Tennessee and is captioned St. Clair County Employees’ Retirement System v. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., et al., No. 18-cv-00988.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased Acadia publicly traded securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@rgrdlaw.com. You can view a copy of the complaint as filed at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/acadiahealthcare/.
The complaint charges Acadia and certain of its officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Acadia is a healthcare company that operates inpatient psychiatric facilities, residential treatment centers, group homes, substance abuse facilities, and facilities providing outpatient behavioral healthcare services to serve the behavioral health and recovery needs of communities throughout the United States, the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) and Puerto Rico.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding Acadia’s business and operations, including by falsely stating that the quality of Acadia’s U.K. operations gave it a “competitive strength” that would drive future growth and profitability, and by issuing false and misleading guidance regarding the Company’s actual and projected 2017 revenue, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) and earnings per share (“EPS”). As a result of defendants’ false statements, Acadia stock traded at artificially inflated prices of more than $52 per share during the Class Period. While Acadia stock was trading at these artificially inflated prices, the Company’s CEO and President sold 706,000 shares of their Acadia stock for proceeds of more than $35 million.
Then on October 24, 2017, Acadia announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2017. The Company revealed a drastic shortfall in EBITDA for its U.K. operations, purportedly resulting from “lower census and higher operating costs,” and lowered its financial guidance for 2017, including lowering its EPS guidance as much as $0.24 per share. Following these revelations, the price of Acadia stock price fell 26%, from a close of $44.12 per share on October 24, 2017 to a close of $32.68 per share on October 25, 2017.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Acadia publicly traded securities during the Class Period (the “Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud.
Robbins Geller is one of the world’s leading law firms representing investors in securities litigation. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history. For five consecutive years, ISS Securities Class Action Services has ranked the Firm in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report as one of the top law firms in both amount recovered for shareholders and total number of class action settlements. Robbins Geller attorneys have helped shape the securities laws and recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved victims. Beyond securing financial recoveries for defrauded investors, Robbins Geller also specializes in implementing corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information.
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