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Super Micro drops on shareholder lawsuit alleging securities fraud around China chip smuggling

Super Micro Computer fell more than 4.5% at one point in premarket trading Thursday on news that shareholders are suing the company, alleging securities fraud after its cofounder and two others were charged with illegally smuggling chips to China.

The lawsuit follows a US criminal indictment that was unsealed last week and accuses the company’s cofounder, sales manager, and a contractor of illegally diverting $2.5 billion worth of AI servers containing Nvidia chips to China, in violation of US export controls. The initial news sent the stock plunging 33% in a single day, wiping out billions in market cap.

While the company wasn’t named as a defendant in the Department of Justice indictment, it announced its cofounder’s resignation and stated that it’s been “cooperating fully with the government’s investigation and will continue to do so.”

According to the complaint filed in San Francisco federal court and viewed by Reuters, shareholders allege the company inflated its stock by overstating its business outlook, while concealing its significant reliance on China sales and “material weakness” in its compliance with export control regulations.

The lawsuit follows a US criminal indictment that was unsealed last week and accuses the company’s cofounder, sales manager, and a contractor of illegally diverting $2.5 billion worth of AI servers containing Nvidia chips to China, in violation of US export controls. The initial news sent the stock plunging 33% in a single day, wiping out billions in market cap.

While the company wasn’t named as a defendant in the Department of Justice indictment, it announced its cofounder’s resignation and stated that it’s been “cooperating fully with the government’s investigation and will continue to do so.”

According to the complaint filed in San Francisco federal court and viewed by Reuters, shareholders allege the company inflated its stock by overstating its business outlook, while concealing its significant reliance on China sales and “material weakness” in its compliance with export control regulations.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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