Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) closed 12% lower after media reports surfaced that the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) is probing the company and its accounting practices.
Multiple media reports say that the U.S. attorney’s office has requested information from Super Micro Computer about a former employee who had accused the company of accounting violations.
The Justice Department hasn’t said anything publicly about an investigation related to Super Micro Computer, or officially confirmed the media reports.
But news of the probe comes weeks after notorious short seller Hindenburg Research published a critical report on Super Micro Computer, accusing the company of “accounting manipulation.”
Days after the Hindenburg Research report, Super Micro Computer announced that it was delaying submitting its annual report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Super Micro Computer, which makes servers for data storage and artificial intelligence (A.I.) applications, has had accounting issues in the past.
In 2018, the company’s stock was temporarily suspended from the Nasdaq exchange on which it trades over accounting irregularities.
The Hindenburg Research report and delayed annual report have sent Super Micro Computer’s stock down nearly 30% since the start of September to trade at $402.40 U.S. per share.
Earlier this year, Super Micro Computer had been the top performing stock in the benchmark S&P 500 index.
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