SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) stock surged during intraday trading following the appointment of a new board member from TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE).
SunPower submitted a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday. The filing revealed that Vincent Stoquart stepped down from the board of directors, effective July 17, 2024. The company clarified that Stoquart’s departure did not result from disagreements with its operation, policies, or practices.
Following Stoquart’s exit, the board appointed Marc-Antoine Pignon as his successor, effective July 23, 2024. Pignon will assume Stoquart’s role as a designee of Sol Holding, LLC, the company’s majority shareholder and an indirect subsidiary of TotalEnergies and Global Infrastructure Partners.
This leadership change comes at a challenging time for SunPower. Last week, the company announced a halt in product shipments and deactivated lease and power purchase agreements, causing its shares to plummet more than 70%. SunPower attributed these actions to its efforts to address financial challenges.
The operational halt has led several analysts to downgrade SPWR stock:
- GLJ Research analyst Gordon Johnson downgraded SunPower to a Sell, reducing the price target from $1.61 to $0.
- Citigroup maintained its Sell rating and significantly cut its price target from $2.50 to $0.25.
- Mizuho downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform, lowering the price target from $4 to $0.50.
- JPMorgan Chase analysts, led by Mark Strouse, view the operational halt as a permanent stoppage for SunPower.
SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) Stock Reaction
SPWR stock surged 31.27% on Tuesday, closing at $0.9396, marking a 65.07% decrease for the week. The trading volume was 186,762,912 shares, significantly higher than the average daily volume of 17.94 million.
