Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the District of New Jersey on behalf of purchasers of Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) publicly traded securities between February 26, 2018 and February 26, 2020 (the “Class Period”). The case is captioned La v. Crown Castle Int’l Corp., No. 2:20-cv-02156, and is assigned to Judge Claire C. Cecchi. The Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit charges Crown Castle and certain of its officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased Crown Castle securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery of the Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit or have questions concerning your rights regarding the Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit, please visit our website by clicking here or contact Brian Cochran at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at bcochran@rgrdlaw.com. Lead plaintiff motions for the Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than April 27, 2020.

Crown Castle is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. As of December 31, 2016, Crown Castle owned, operated and leased more than 40,000 cell towers and more than 75,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions.

The Crown Castle securities class action lawsuit alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding Crown Castle’s business and financial results. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that: (1) Crown Castle’s internal control over financial reporting and its disclosures controls and procedures were ineffective and materially weak; (2) Crown Castle’s financial accounting and reporting was not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”); (3) Crown Castle’s net income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted funds from operations (“AFFO”) were inflated; and (4) as a consequence, Crown Castle would need to restate its financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, and unaudited financial information for the quarterly and year-to-date periods in the year ended December 31, 2018 and for the first three quarters in the year ended December 31, 2019. As a result of this information being withheld from the market, Crown Castle securities traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, with the price of the Company’s stock reaching a high of more than $168 per share.

Then on February 26, 2020, the Company disclosed that its historical accounting practice for tower installation services was not acceptable under GAAP and that the Company would be forced to restate its “financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, and unaudited financial information for the quarterly and year-to-date periods in the year ended December 31, 2018 and for the first three quarters in the year ended December 31, 2019.” According to the Company, the preliminary impact of these restatements “to each of net income, adjusted EBITDA and AFFO is a decrease of approximately $100 million for full year 2019 actuals and a decrease of approximately $90 million to our Previous 2020 Outlook.” On this news, the price of Crown Castle stock fell $16.29 per share, or 10%, to close at $148.40 per share on February 27, 2020.

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world’s leading law firms representing investors in securities litigation. With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history. For six consecutive years, ISS Securities Class Action Services has ranked the Firm in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report as one of the top law firms in the world in both amount recovered for shareholders and total number of class action settlements. Robbins Geller attorneys have helped shape the securities laws and have recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved victims. Beyond securing financial recoveries for defrauded investors, Robbins Geller also specializes in implementing corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Robbins Geller attorneys are consistently recognized by courts, professional organizations, and the media as leading lawyers in the industry. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information.