ForeScout Technologies, Inc. (FSCT) Accused of Misleading Shareholders
According to the complaint for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between February 7, 2019 and October 9, 2019, in February 2019, ForeScout Technologies, Inc. (FSCT) issued a press release that provided fiscal full year 2019 (“FY19”) revenue guidance of $363.1 million to $373.1 million, representing year-over-year growth of 24%. Then, in May 2019, ForeScout raised its FY19 revenue guidance to $365.3 million to $375.3 million. When asked about “deal slippage” the Company was facing, ForeScout assured analysts that “every one of those deals is still in pipeline… a high degree of confidence close for the year…they’ve just slipped a little bit” and ended by stating “there’s still plenty of pipeline to deliver upon the guidance given you for the full year.” Contrary to these assurances, on October 10, 2019, ForeScout announced disappointing third quarter 2019 financial results that lowered the quarter’s revenue guidance to $90.6 million to $91.6 million from $98.8 million to $101.8 million, revealing that the Company was experiencing a material impact from the significant volatility it was facing in closing its large deals. On this news, ForeScout’s stock price fell $14.63 per share, or more than 37%, to close at $24.57 per share.
