A Medical Device Daily

Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins reported that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of LCA-Vision (Cincinnati) investors who bought stock between Feb. 12 and July 30.

LCA provides laser vision correction services under the LasikPlus brand.

The complaint charges LCA with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It alleges that between Feb. 12 and July 30, LCA issued “materially false and misleading statements” about its business and financial results, including EPS guidance of $2.05 to $2.15 for 2007. As a result, LCA stock traded at artificially inflated prices during that time, according to the complaint, reaching a high of $50.56 a share in July.

On July 31 the company reported its financial and operational results for the three months and six months ended June 30, and retracted its statements through the first seven months of the year that it would earn $2.05 to $2.15 for the year, lowering its EPS guidance for 2007 to $1.90 to $2, according to the complaint. LCA’s stock collapsed to close at $35.51 a share, a decline of 17%, on 3.5 million shares.

According to the complaint, the company knew between Feb. 12 and July 30 that it lacked requisite internal controls, and, as a result, the company’s projections and reported results issued during that time were based upon defective assumptions about its marketing budget and deferred revenue. The complaint also alleges that the company knew its revenues were driven almost entirely by the number of procedures performed in its vision centers during the first quarter of each year and that its existing stores were not showing growth and any overall growth was being derived from new store openings.