NEW YORK, April 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in Apple, Inc. (“Apple” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:AAPL) of the June 17, 2019 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you invested in Apple stock or options between November 2, 2018 and January 2, 2019 and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here: www.faruqilaw.com/AAPL.  There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. 

CONTACT:
FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP
685 Third Avenue, 26^th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.
[email protected]
Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all those who purchased Apple common stock between November 2, 2018 and January 2, 2019 (the “Class Period”).  The case, City of Roseville Employees’ Retirement System v. Apple Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-2033 was filed on April 16, 2019.

The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose that: (1) the U.S.-China trade war had negatively impacted demand for iPhones and Apple’s pricing power in greater China; (2) due to Apple discounting the cost of replacement batteries to make up for the Company’s prior conduct of intentionally degrading the performance of the batteries in older iPhones, the rate at which Apple customers were replacing their batteries in older iPhones, rather than purchasing new iPhones, was negatively impacting Apple’s iPhone sales growth; (3) as a result of slowing demand, Apple had slashed production orders from suppliers for the new 2018 iPhone models and cut prices to reduce inventory; and (4) defendants’ decision to withhold unit sales for iPhones and other hardware, which was a metric relevant to investors and their view of the Company’s financial performance, was designed to and would mask declines in unit sales of the Company’s flagship product.  

On January 2, 2019, after the close of trading, Apple disclosed that, for the first time in 15 years, Apple would miss its prior quarterly revenue forecast amid falling iPhone sales in China, its third-largest market after the United States and Europe. The Company announced first quarter fiscal 2019 revenues of only $84 billion, far below the expected range of $89 billion to $93 billion the Company had announced just eight weeks earlier on November 1, 2018. The Company also admitted that in addition to macroeconomics in the Chinese market, the price cuts to battery replacements a year earlier to fix the Company’s prior surreptitious conduct had hurt iPhone sales. 

On this news, the Company’s stock price fell from $157.92 per share on January 2, 2019 to $142.19 per share on January 3, 2019—a $15.62 or 9.96% drop. 

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative 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. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not. 

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Apple’s conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

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