crying the blues->IBM falls after report of SEC probe
By Mike Tarsala, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:38 AM ET April 11, 2002
ARMONK, N.Y. (CBS.MW) -- Shares of IBM dropped as much as 6 percent Thursday after a private research firm said the hardware and computer services company is the target of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The investigation could center on the company's accounting practices, as the research firm says the preliminary inquiry was launched on Feb. 15. That's the same day a New York Times reported highlighted IBM's omission of an asset sale in its fourth-quarter report, a move that puffed up its per-share earnings.
"We want to be clear that we do not know what the new inquiry is about," said John Gavin, president of SEC Insight, a private research firm based in Plymouth, Minn. "However, it does appear that this new inquiry is unrelated to a long-running investigation of the company, as that probe actually ended on February 13, 2002. "
Shares of the Dow component continue their freefall this week, losing 14 percent since the company warned on Monday that it expects to fall short of first-quarter earnings and sales targets.
The SEC has no comment about the alleged inquiry, as is its practice.
"We don't comment on our relationship with government agencies, added Laura Wessner, IBM spokeswoman. "We don't comment on rumors."
In recent trading, shares of IBM (IBM: news, chart) lost $5.22 to $83.79.
Mike Tarsala is a San Francisco-based reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
