CEOs come and go all the time in this crazy world without causing big trouble for their company’s stock price, but the departure of First Solar’s CEO today is crushing the stock.Earlier:
First Solar is down 25% at last check, on the news that Rob Gillette is leaving the company immediately, with nothing much in the way of explanation.
Early analyst reaction to the news suggests the stock could be selling off mainly due to the company’s staying tight-lipped about exactly why this is happening.
Credit Suisse analysts, who are “neutral” on the stock, write:
The news is clearly negative – the company has not yet announced any conference call to go over the news (we would highly encourage the company to host one as soon as possible), the abruptness of the announcement and terse wording of the release, the fact that earnings will likely be next week and the CEO is stepping down just a week in advance, and the fact that FSLR had planned to host a reception with the CEO on Nov 15 all sound unfortunately quite concerning. Barring a surprise announcement of a new CEO (perhaps company brings back some of the recent management that have left), the news is clearly negative for the stock....MUCH MORE
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