Ryan & Maniskas, LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Pilgrim's Pride Corporation

WAYNE, Pa., Oct. 31, 2016

Pilgrim's Pride shareholders may, no later than December 19, 2016, move the Court for appointment as a lead plaintiff of the Class.  If you purchased shares of Pilgrim's Pride and would like to learn more about these claims or if you wish to discuss these matters and have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights, contact Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire toll-free at (877) 316-3218 or to sign up online, visit: www.rmclasslaw.com/cases/ppc.

Pilgrim's Pride engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators in the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially 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:  (i) Pilgrim's Pride systematically colluded with several of its industry peers to fix prices in the market for broiler chickens (i.e., chickens raised specifically for meat production); (ii) the foregoing conduct constituted a violation of federal antitrust laws; (iii) consequently, Pilgrim's Pride's revenues during the class period were the result of illegal conduct; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, Pilgrim's Pride's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On September 2, 2016, the market had its first inkling of Defendants' fraud, when food distributor Maplevale Farms, Inc. ("Maplevale") filed an antitrust class action complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Pilgrim's Pride and several other poultry producers, including Tyson Foods, Inc. ("Tyson"), alleging that Pilgrim's Pride and the other companies named in the complaint had conspired since 2008 to manipulate the prices of broiler chicken in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Between September 7, 2016 and October 7, 2016, seven more class action complaints were filed against Pilgrim's Pride and other poultry companies in the Northern District of Illinois, on behalf of individual consumers and indirect purchasers of broiler chickens, all alleging that Pilgrim's Pride and its industry peers had engaged in the price-manipulation scheme described in Maplevale's complaint.

On October 7, 2016, Pivotal Research downgraded Tyson from "Hold" to "Sell."  Explaining the downgrade, analyst Timothy Ramey directed investors' attention to the allegations of price manipulation by Pilgrim's Pride, Tyson, and their industry peers and described the Maplevale complaint as "powerfully convincing."