| Company: | St. Joe |
| Ticker Symbol: | JOE |
| Class Period: | Feb-19-08 to Oct-12-10 |
| Date Filed: | Nov-3-10 |
| Lead Plaintiff Deadline: | Jan-2-11 |
| Court: | --- |
| Allegations: | |
St. Joe, one of the largest real estate development companies in Florida, is engaged in town and resort development, commercial and industrial development and rural land sales. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) as the Florida real estate market was in decline, St. Joe was failing to take adequate and required impairments and accounting write-downs on many of its Florida based property developments; (2) as a result, St. Joe's financial statements materially overvalued the Company's Florida based property developments; (3) the Company's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; (4) the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On October 13, 2010, David Einhorn ("Einhorn") of Greenlight Capital Inc. detailed the need of the Company to take "substantial impairments" and accounting writedowns on many of its properties, and warned that further building by the Company would drive the stock price to zero. Einhorn's presentation noted that St. Joe's "development plans have fallen flat, leaving it with 'ghost towns' and inevitable writedowns." For example, Einhorn said he would "generously" place a value of $17.8 million on the remaining residential development at St. Joe's Windmark Beach property, while the Company is carrying the property at $164.5 million on its balance sheet. Einhorn also stated that the Company "was 'stuck' after making an aggressive bet on beachfront developments that have gone nowhere, and that it was overvaluing the real estate holdings on its books."
On this news, shares of the Company's stock declined $2.38 per share, or 9.7% on October 13, 2010. The next trading day, the Company's shares declined an additional $2.42 per share, or 10.9%, to close at $19.74 per share. Cumulatively over these two days, St. Joe's shares declined a total of $4.80 per share, or over 19.5%.
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.
