OCZ Technolgy has been notified by the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding an
inverstigation possible securities law violations
involving the SSD maker.
OCZ on on November 15, 2012 received a letter from the
SEC indicating that they are conducting an
investigation. As part of this notification, the
Company also received a subpoena requesting certain
documents and information generally related to its
press releases on September 5, 2012 and October 10,
2012, and the financial reporting for customer
incentive programs, among other matters.
October 10, 2012, OCZ issued a press release announcing
that it was delaying the filing of its financial
results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013,
which ended August 31, 2012. The press release also
disclosed that OCZ's second quarter revenue will be
"materially lower" than its previous guidance released
on September 5, 2012, which was in the range of $110 to
$120 million, "principally due to the impact of
customer incentive programs," and that OCZ expects to
report a "significant net loss." Shortly after the
release of this news, shares of OCZ dropped nearly 42
percent from a close of $3.15 on October 9, 2012 to
close at $1.88 per share on October 10, 2012.
SEC's inverstigation possibly seeks to determine, among
other things, whether OCZ or its officers and directors
have violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or
any other federal securities laws.
"Since we delayed the filing of our second quarter
10-Q, we had proactively contacted the Commission and
have been expecting them to conduct an investigation,"
said Ralph Schmitt, OCZ president and chief executive
officer. "We intend to cooperate fully regarding this
non-public, fact-finding inquiry and are also
continuing with our own internal investigation as
previously announced," he added.
OCZ says it does not intend to comment further on this
matter unless and until this matter is closed or
further action is taken by the SEC which, in OCZ's
judgment, "merits further comment or public
disclosure."