A class action has been filed in the Middle District Court of Florida against Anchor Glass Container Corporation (NASDAQ: AGCC) and certain of its officers and directors by stockholders who purchased the company's common stock between September 25, 2003 and November 4, 2004. The action claims that the defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market over this time period, thereby artificially inflating the price of the company's securities. The stockholders seek to recover compensatory damages for the loss of value of their stock.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that Anchor went public with an initial public offering on September 23, 2003. Throughout the class period, the defendants allegedly touted their increasing sales and profitability causing their stock price to rise over $17 per share. Insiders cashed out both in the initial public offering and afterwards when they sold over $4.4 million worth of stock at artificially inflated prices. On November 5, 2004, defendants announced a much greater than expected net loss, a major company revamping including the closure of a major container facility, the suspension of the quarterly dividend and the sudden resignation of their CEO, Richard Deneau. As a result of this announcement, the company's stock dropped over 25%.