New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - January 19, 2022) - Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of First Solar, Inc. ("First Solar" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: FSLR). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.
The investigation concerns whether First Solar and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
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On January 15, 2020, Barclays reported that, among other things, "First Solar ha[d] seemingly been, in large part, priced-out of the U.S. downstream solar market; and that the Company had concealed its rapidly declining market share through misleading financial reporting. According to analysts at Barclays, First Solar was obfuscating this fact by improperly reporting its Project Development pipeline to make it appear that the Company maintained a stronger market share, despite the fact that some projects on the pipeline had been completed in prior years.
On this news, First Solar's stock price fell $4.03 per share, or nearly 7%, to close at $54.75 per share on January 15, 2020.
Then, on February 6, 2020, Barclays issued another report and suggested that, in an attempt to gain back its market share, First Solar was "bidding more aggressively, leading to lower [Project Development contract] prices, and finally cutting into margins."
On this news, First Solar's stock price fell $0.45 per share to close at $52.65 per share on February 6, 2020.
Finally, on February 20, 2020, First Solar announced that it was exploring a sale of its Project Development business. On the same day, First Solar acknowledged that it was experiencing "challenges with regard to certain aspects of the overall cost per watt" and that the Company would not be realizing its cost per watt goals, despite having previously represented that it had been "slightly ahead of" its goals as recently as the previous quarter. Following this, the Company stated that it would no longer be disclosing a discrete cost per watt for its Series 6 units. When asked by an industry analyst to further explain the decision to no longer provide discrete cost per watt data, First Solar executives claimed that customers had "start[ed] to hold [the Company] accountable to a cost-plus model . . . [a]nd so we have purposely moved away from giving a discrete cost per watt."
On this news, First Solar's stock price fell $8.73 per share, or nearly 15%, to close at $50.59 per share on February 21, 2020.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
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