American Superconductor Corp.'s (Nasdaq:AMSC) largest investor saw opportunity in the lower stock price of the company Wednesday, snapping up 3 million shares in the company at a cost of $42.8 million.
Shares in the Devens, Mass.-based power technologies firm fell 42 percent on Wednesday after the company reported that its largest customer refused to accept shipments of wind turbine components.
The company's top investor, wealthy telecommunications businessman
Kevin G. Douglas, has been on a buying streak in the company over the past year. The purchase on Wednesday brought his stake in the company to 20.8 percent, or 10.57 million shares.
A regulatory filing shows that Douglas had also made stock purchases in the two days before the disclosure. Douglas bought 295,000 shares in the company at a cost of $7.3 million on Monday and Tuesday, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Douglas is founder and chairman of the privately-held
Douglas Telecommunications Inc. of California, and has never had an active role at American Superconductor, the company recently told the Wall Street Journal. Douglas declined to explain his interest in the company to the newspaper.
The new buys this week bring his total investment in the company over the past year to $172.8 million.
American Superconductor
revealed after the market close Tuesday that Chinese wind power firm Sinovel Wind Group Co. had refused to accept contracted shipments of 1.5-megawatt and 3-megawatt wind turbine core electrical components and spare parts. American Superconductor believes Sinovel plans to reduce its inventory level before accepting further shipments.
The company said this will lead to lower-than-expected revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, and a net loss. American Superconductor cut its revenue forecast for the full fiscal year 2010 to less than $355 million, compared with the company’s prior forecast of $430 million to $440 million.
A number of analysts responded by downgrading stock in the company, and shares closed at $14.47 on Wednesday, down from the closing price of $24.88 on Tuesday....
