Key Takeaways
- Shares of POET Technologies plummeted more than 44% on Monday following Marvell’s termination of all Celestial AI orders
- The cancellation stems from alleged violations of confidentiality agreements by POET
- POET’s Chief Financial Officer disclosed order information during a public interview, sparking the breach allegations
- Just a week earlier, shares had soared 76% when the order was initially announced
- Despite the setback, POET maintains a $5 million order with another tech firm
Shares of POET Technologies experienced a dramatic selloff on Monday after Marvell Semiconductor terminated all outstanding purchase orders issued through its Celestial AI division.
On April 23, Marvell delivered formal written notification of the order cancellations. The semiconductor giant pointed to purported disclosures of sensitive information regarding purchase orders and shipping logistics as justification for its decision.
The controversy erupted after POET’s Chief Financial Officer referenced the Marvell contract during a public interview. According to Marvell, this public statement breached the confidentiality terms embedded in their business agreement.
The terminated orders encompassed initial production shipments that POET had originally disclosed to investors in April 2023.
The announcement’s timing proved particularly devastating for shareholders. In the week preceding the cancellation news, POET shares had rallied approximately 76%, climbing near the 52-week peak of $15.50.
The previous week had delivered volatile trading action. Following the initial order announcement, the stock surged before experiencing a sharp pullback as traders locked in profits. Shares rebounded Friday, finishing the week with solid gains.
Monday’s collapse wiped out most of those recent advances. POET declined 44.37% during the session, with trading volume exploding to roughly 94 million shares—dramatically above the three-month average daily volume of approximately 10.52 million.
Company Highlights Remaining Revenue Opportunities
Notwithstanding the Marvell setback, POET directed investor attention to continuing business operations. The company verified an existing purchase order worth roughly $5 million from another technology partner.
POET stated it “remains focused on executing its strategic priorities and advancing product development within the AI and optical networking markets to meet increasing demand.”
Despite Monday’s severe decline, POET shares maintained a year-to-date gain of 27.8% and continued trading approximately 250% higher over the trailing twelve months.
Meanwhile, short seller Wolfpack Research has publicly announced a bearish position in the stock. The research firm highlighted potential tax compliance concerns affecting U.S. investors. Wolfpack further questioned POET’s history of strategic pivots and characterized the enterprise as engaging in “stock promotion.”
Active Partnerships Remain Intact
Not all of POET’s business relationships have deteriorated. The company recently unveiled a collaboration with Lessengers focused on developing a 1.6T optical transceiver module designed for AI computing clusters and hyperscale data center infrastructure.
This partnership leverages POET’s Optical Interposer platform combined with Lessengers’ Direct Optical Wiring capabilities.
Additionally, POET has forged an agreement with LITEON Technology to jointly develop optical communication modules targeting AI networks and data center applications. This collaboration emphasizes the integration of optical components with electronic systems utilizing POET’s proprietary interposer technology.
Marvell’s stock also experienced downward pressure during the session, declining 5.77%.
POET emphasized its ongoing commitment to executing deliveries for its existing customer base.
