Ten Ninth Investigation of OCZ

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of OCZ Technology Group, Inc. common stock during the period between July 10, 2012 and October 11, 2012.

The complaint charges OCZ and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. OCZ designs, manufactures, and distributes SSDs and related computer components.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the company’s business practices and financial results.

Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that the company’s sales trends were not as robust as they had stated, and that in order to address those negative trends in OCZ’s business, defendants were promising to pay customers "incentives" (i.e., rebates) in order to obtain sales, rendering their statements concerning OCZ’s financial results materially false and misleading.

As a result of these false statements, OCZ’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $7.67 per share in intraday trading on July 30, 2012.

On September 5, 2012, defendants reported that revenue for the second quarter of 2013 (ended August 31, 2012) would be in the $110 to $120 million range instead of the $130 to $140 million range projected on July 10, 2012, causing OCZ’s stock price to decline approximately $1 per share, or more than 20%. Defendants attributed the downward guidance revision to supply constraints, stating demand for the company’s product offerings had simply overwhelmed available supply.

On October 10, 2012, OCZ issued a press release announcing it was unable to file its Form 10-Q for the second quarter of 2013. Defendants also disclosed that the company’s second quarter 2013 revenue would be significantly lower than the $110 to $120 million guidance provided on September 5, 2012, and that the company now expected to report negative gross margins and a significant net loss for its second quarter of 2013.

Defendants attributed the revenue revision and filing delay to the impact of customer incentive programs which defendants had promised OCZ’s customers in order to bring in business.

On this news, the company’s stock price declined precipitously by more than 40%, closing at $1.88 per share, down $1.27 from the prior day’s close.

Then, on October 11, 2012, defendants notified investors and the SEC that the company now required "additional time for compilation and review to insure adequate disclosure of certain information" and that "the company [could not] currently estimate the exact filing date of the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August 31, 2012."

On this news the company’s stock price again declined on unusually high volume, closing at $1.47 per share on October 12, 2012.

According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows:

• OCZ’s financial results were materially false and misleading in violation of GAAP;
• OCZ’s business was not growing to the extent represented by defendants; and
• OCZ’s internal controls were so poor and inadequate that OCZ’s reported results were not reliable.

Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of OCZ common stock during the Class Period.