Super Micro Computer Inc shares gained 31 percent yesterday, the most since February, after the company hired a new auditor and filed a plan to come into compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements.
The server maker said on late Monday that it submitted a plan to the NASDAQ exchange for filing its 10-K financial disclosure report delayed in August. The company also announced that it appointed BDO USA as its independent auditor, effective immediately.
“In its compliance plan to NASDAQ, the company indicated that it believes that it will be able to complete its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2024, and its quarterly report on 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024, and become current with its periodic reports within the discretionary period available to the Nasdaq staff to grant,” Super Micro said in a statement on Monday.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
If Super Micro’s proposal is accepted by the exchange, its new deadline for the document will likely be pushed to February next year. It will be able to stay listed on the NASDAQ until a final decision about its compliance is made. If a plan isn’t approved, the company can appeal the decision.
Super Micro’s previous auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, resigned last month, citing concerns over the company’s transparency and governance. Ernst & Young is one of the Big Four accounting firms, the auditors that vet the books of the world’s largest companies. BDO USA is the sixth-largest auditor by revenue, according to Inside Public Accounting. The firm has only one other S&P 500 company as a client, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Finding an auditor is a “big step for them,” even if it isn’t one of the Big Four firms, Wedbush Securities Inc analyst Matt Bryson said in an interview. “This is a positive step in terms of putting a plan forth in front of Nasdaq, and, at least from their perspective, hopefully being able to file their financials and put these problems to bed.”
Having a new auditor and a plan to regain compliance with NASDAQ’s listing rules is the latest update in a tumultuous few months for Super Micro, which had gained favor with investors earlier this year as a potential beneficiary of the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) services. The San Jose, California-based company delayed filing its annual 10-K following a damaging report from short seller Hindenburg Research, and last week said it would be late with quarterly reports.
Super Micro is also facing a US Department of Justice probe. The shares had tumbled more than 80 percent from a peak in March through Monday’s close.
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