NEW YORK, Aug. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Robbins Geller") (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/elpolloloco/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of purchasers of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. ("El Pollo Loco") (NASDAQ:LOCO) common stock during the period between May 15, 2015 and August 13, 2015 (the "Class Period").
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, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at [email protected]. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/elpolloloco/. 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.
The complaint charges El Pollo Loco, certain of its officers and directors and certain of its controlling shareholders with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. El Pollo Loco develops, franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service restaurants in the United States.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information about El Pollo Loco's business and prospects, including that traffic at El Pollo Loco stores had declined substantially due to the removal of the value items from the restaurants' menu boards, and that as a result, comparable store sales were not growing at 3%, much less the 3% to 5% the defendants had led investors to believe they would grow in the second quarter of 2015. As a result of these false and misleading statements and/or omissions, El Pollo Loco securities traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, with the Company's stock price reaching a high of $25.37 per share.
After the close of trading on August 13, 2015, the Company issued a release announcing its second quarter 2015 results for the three-month period ended July 1, 2015. El Pollo Loco disclosed that contrary to defendants' prior claims of being on track to achieve 3%-5% comparable store sales increases, second quarter 2015 "[s]ystem-wide comparable restaurant sales [had grown] 1.3%, including a 0.5% decrease for company-operated restaurants, and a 2.6% increase for franchised restaurants." On this news, the price of El Pollo Loco's shares declined by 20% from its closing price of $18.36 per share on August 13, 2015, to $14.56 per share on August 14, 2015.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of El Pollo Loco common stock 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, with 200 lawyers in ten offices, represents U.S. and international institutional investors in contingency-based securities and corporate litigation. The firm has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history and was ranked first in both the amount and number of shareholder class action recoveries in ISS's SCAS Top 50 report for 2014. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/elpolloloco/ for more information.
Contact:
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
Samuel H. Rudman, 800-449-4900
David A. Rosenfeld
[email protected]
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SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
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