Walgreens and Walgreen Co.

Wade Miquelon: The case against Walgreens predecessor -- Walgreen Co. -- was filed a day after the pharmacy chain announced plans to close 200 of its 8,232 U.S. drug stores to reduce costs as profit is squeezed by competition and lower reimbursements from pharmaceutical insurers, according to Bloomberg. The group suit in Chicago federal court relies in part on a complaint filed by ex-Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon, who separately sued the company last year claiming he was improperly ousted and wrongfully blamed for bungling the earnings forecast. Those and other misstatements last year artificially pumped up the value of shares last year while concealing an earnings shortfall of $1.8 billion to $2.3 billion in fiscal 2016, according to a securities-fraud complaint filed April 10 by the Washtenaw County, Michigan, employees’ pension plan. Miquelon and former Chief Executive Officer Greg Wasson, who retired in 2014, are named as defendants along with the company in the new case.‘Misleading Statements’ Due to the misleading statements, investors and analysts were completely unaware of the amount of the company forecasted shortfall, according to the complaint. Miquelon lawyer, David Bernick of Philadelphia-based Dechert LLP, also declined to comment. Michael Polzin, a spokesman for Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens, declined to comment on the claims. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.