| Company: | MasTec, Inc. |
| Ticker Symbol: | NYSE: MTZ |
| Class Period: | May 13, 2003 to April 12, 2004 |
| Court: | Southern District, FL |
| Date Filed: | Apr-15-04 |
| Lead Plaintiff Deadline: | Jun-14-04 |
| Allegations: |
A class action lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, under Civil Action No. 04-cv-20886, against MasTec, Inc. ("MasTec" or the "Company")(NYSE: MTZ). The suit alleges claims on behalf of a class consisting of purchasers of the publicly traded securities of MasTec between May 13, 2003 and April 12, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The complaint charges MasTec, Austin Shanfelter, and Donald Weinstein with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The Complaint alleges that defendants made material misstatements with respect to the Company's financial results. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that defendants failed to disclose and indicate the following: (1) that the Company was materially inflating its financial results; (2) that the Company was prematurely recognizing revenue on various contracts; (3) that the Company's practice of improperly recognizing revenue was in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; (4) that the Company overstated its inventory; (5) that the Company failed to have adequate reserves for bad debts, inventory, cost overruns, and projected losses on certain projects; and (6) as a result, the Company's financial results were materially inflated at all relevant times.
According to the Complaint, the truth about the Company's inflated financial results began to emerge on March 10, 2004, when MasTec announced that the filing of its 10-K would be delayed past the March 15th deadline. Upon this news, MasTec shares fell $2.00 per share (16.75%) on March 10, 2004 to close at $9.94 per share. On March 18, 2004, MasTec further declined $2.31 per share (23%) to close at $7.75 per share when Standard & Poor's Rating Services put the Company's BB credit rating on watch for a downgrade.
On April 13, 2004, MasTec announced its 2003 operating results and disclosed material problems that could result in a restatement of its previously announced financial results. More specifically, the Company announced a net loss of $39.7 million ($0.83 per share) on revenue of $873.9 million for the year. Additionally, the Company disclosed that during its review and analysis of the Company's annual results, MasTec's management identified a number of matters that impacted current and prior-period operating results. These included additional reserves for bad debts and inventory, cost overruns and projected losses on certain projects, valuation reserves for state deferred tax assets, revenues recognized on various contracts, work in progress and inventory overstatements at a Canadian subsidiary, the closing of Brazilian operations, the accrual for certain insurance reserves which was complicated by the receivership of a prior insurance carrier, and other items. Defendants concluded that these matters required a detailed analysis and evaluation to determine the appropriate accounting treatment. Some of these issues may require restatements of amounts previously reported. This news shocked the market. MasTec's stock price dropped $1.50 per share (15.5%) on April 13, 2004 on unusually large trading volumes.
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than the Lead Plaintiff Deadline shown above, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
The complaint charges MasTec, Austin Shanfelter, and Donald Weinstein with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The Complaint alleges that defendants made material misstatements with respect to the Company's financial results. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that defendants failed to disclose and indicate the following: (1) that the Company was materially inflating its financial results; (2) that the Company was prematurely recognizing revenue on various contracts; (3) that the Company's practice of improperly recognizing revenue was in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; (4) that the Company overstated its inventory; (5) that the Company failed to have adequate reserves for bad debts, inventory, cost overruns, and projected losses on certain projects; and (6) as a result, the Company's financial results were materially inflated at all relevant times.
According to the Complaint, the truth about the Company's inflated financial results began to emerge on March 10, 2004, when MasTec announced that the filing of its 10-K would be delayed past the March 15th deadline. Upon this news, MasTec shares fell $2.00 per share (16.75%) on March 10, 2004 to close at $9.94 per share. On March 18, 2004, MasTec further declined $2.31 per share (23%) to close at $7.75 per share when Standard & Poor's Rating Services put the Company's BB credit rating on watch for a downgrade.
On April 13, 2004, MasTec announced its 2003 operating results and disclosed material problems that could result in a restatement of its previously announced financial results. More specifically, the Company announced a net loss of $39.7 million ($0.83 per share) on revenue of $873.9 million for the year. Additionally, the Company disclosed that during its review and analysis of the Company's annual results, MasTec's management identified a number of matters that impacted current and prior-period operating results. These included additional reserves for bad debts and inventory, cost overruns and projected losses on certain projects, valuation reserves for state deferred tax assets, revenues recognized on various contracts, work in progress and inventory overstatements at a Canadian subsidiary, the closing of Brazilian operations, the accrual for certain insurance reserves which was complicated by the receivership of a prior insurance carrier, and other items. Defendants concluded that these matters required a detailed analysis and evaluation to determine the appropriate accounting treatment. Some of these issues may require restatements of amounts previously reported. This news shocked the market. MasTec's stock price dropped $1.50 per share (15.5%) on April 13, 2004 on unusually large trading volumes.
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than the Lead Plaintiff Deadline shown above, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
If you feel you qualify for damages or remedies that might be awarded in this class action please fill in our form on the right to submit your complaint.
If your injustice does not match the complaint described above, please use this form to register your complaint. Thank you.
