May 9, 2013
Bernstein Liebhard LLP today announced that a securities class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of a class (the “Class”) of purchasers of Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (“Vitamin Shoppe” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VSI) common stock between May 8, 2012 and February 25, 2013 (the “Class Period”).
The complaint charges Vitamin Shoppe and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Vitamin Shoppe, through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer and direct marketer of nutritional products in the United States.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s operations, business trends and same-store sales trends. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that: (i) Vitamin Shoppe’s business was then being negatively impacted by competition from on-line retailers which were significantly reducing prices on popular supplements; (ii) GNC’s new discount program was negatively impacting the Company’s sales growth; and (iii) the Company was experiencing declining same-store sales trends. As a result of defendants’ false and misleading statements, Vitamin Shoppe common stock traded at artificially inflated prices, enabling Company insiders to sell more than $30 million of their personally held Vitamin Shoppe common stock at inflated prices during the Class Period.
Then, on February 25, 2013, according to the complaint, after guiding toward strong fiscal 2012 sales and profits during the Class Period, Vitamin Shoppe announced lackluster financial results for the Company’s fiscal and fourth quarter 2012. In response, the price of the Company’s stock fell $11.86 per share, or more than 18.76% that day.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class members who invested in Vitamin Shoppe stock during the Class Period. If you invested in Vitamin Shoppe stock as described above during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the stock, you may wish to join in this action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than July 8, 2013.
A “lead plaintiff” is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Bernstein Liebhard LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
If you are interested in discussing your rights as a Vitamin Shoppe shareholder and/or have information relating to the matter, please contact Joseph R. Seidman, Jr. at (877) 779-1414 or seidman@bernlieb.com.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP has pursued hundreds of securities, consumer and shareholder rights cases and recovered over $3 billion for its clients. It has been named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” in each of the last ten years.
You can obtain a copy of the complaint from the clerk of the court for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.