FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) continued to tumble Monday amid uncertainty surrounding who would fill shoved out CEO Arthur Bottone’s shoes amid a major overhaul at the struggling company.
The company filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week tipping off investors about the sudden CEO exit.
Investors hate uncertainty and punished FuelCell stock, sending it down another 20% to $4.46.
READ: FuelCell Energy’s unceremonious CEO exit, restructuring spooks investors
Bottone presided for eight years over the fluctuating fortunes of FuelCell Energy which designs, installs, and operates fuel cell power plants for power generation.
As part of the overhaul, FuelCell Energy has hired Huron Consulting Services to assist with restructuring and contingency plans.
Analysts sour on FuelCell
Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch downgraded FuelCell Energy last Friday to Perform from Outperform without a price target.
The analyst wrote that there were too many imponderables with FuelCell entering into a major overhaul and Bottone being terminated. Oppenheimer said the company’s strategy "has become increasingly more difficult to predict."
Meanwhile, Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne also cut FuelCell stock to Market Perform and lowered his price target to $1 from $2.75.
According to an engagement letter, the FuelCell’s board has appointed Laura Marcero, a managing director at Huron, as chief restructuring officer of FuelCell and its subsidiaries.
For the three months ended January 31, the company posted a net loss of $0.33 per share on revenue of $17.8 million, compared with $38.6 million a year earlier. The average forecast of analysts was for a loss of $0.18 per share on revenue of $11.38 million.
Contact Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive