Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of beaten-down China clean tech player RINO International
So what: If we were in the world of Harry Potter, we might be seeing the Dementors starting to circle above RINO right about now. The company has been accused of fraud by small short-selling research firm Muddy Waters, and those accusations seemed to pick up steam with a downgrade from the more credible Canaccord Genuity. The picture got even bleaker yesterday when the company canceled its earnings conference call at the last minute with a curt "RINO apologizes for any inconvenience due to the postponement." Today, shares were halted around noon after falling as much as 20%.
Now what: The situation is pretty ugly at this point as lawyers have started descending like so many vultures (or perhaps they're the Dementors?). Even if the fraud allegations don't hold water, RINO management has done shareholders a serious disservice by not being more aggressive about rebutting the claims. On this point, the company could have taken a cue from Orient Paper
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