NEW YORK, May 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Apple, Inc. (“Apple” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:  AAPL) and certain of its officers.   The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Northern District of California, and indexed under 19-cv-02615, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Apple securities between November 2, 2018 and January 2, 2019, inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to pursue remedies under §§ 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Apple securities during the class period, you have until June 17, 2019, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class.  A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com.   To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. 

[Click here to join this class action]

Apple is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.  The Company’s most well-known products include its iconic iPhone smartphones, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart speaker.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies.  Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:  (i) the U.S.-China trade war had negatively impacted demand for iPhones and Apple’s pricing power in greater China, one of Apple’s most important growth markets; (ii) 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; (iii) 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; (iv) unit sales for iPhone and other hardware was relevant to investors and the Company’s financial performance, and the decision to withhold such unit sales was designed to and would mask declines in unit sales of the Company’s flagship product; (v) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants lacked a reasonable basis in fact when issuing the Company’s revenue outlook for 1Q19 and/or making the related statements concerning demand for its products, as Apple’s business metrics and financial prospects were not as strong as Defendants had led the market to believe; and (vi) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On January 2, 2019, after the close of trading, Apple shocked the market when it disclosed the true state of its actual 1Q19 iPhone sales, particularly in China.  For the first time during Cook’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Apple would miss its public revenue projections and the miss was up to $9 billion.  The Company would admit 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. 

This news caused the market price of Apple common stock to plunge, closing down more than $15 per share, or more than 9%, from its close of $157.92 per share on January 2, 2019 to close at $142.19 per share on January 3, 2019, on unusually high volume of more than 90 million shares traded.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]