Portland General Electric Co. (POR) Accused of Deceiving Consumers and Investors
During the class period, the company falsely touted the strength of Portland General’s business, financial, and operational profiles. On August 24, 2020, Portland General announced that it was taking a $128 million loss by its proprietary trading unit, which bet the wrong way on the energy trading market.
Changes in the wholesale energy markets in the summer of 2020 exposed these “ill-conceived” trades, forcing Portland General to disclose its trading unit, which investors did not even know existed. In conjunction with the loss, Portland General placed two employees on administrative leave and created a special committee to review the Company’s energy trading practices. However, the loss caused Portland General to lower its earning guidance from $2.2-$2.5 per share to $1.3-$1.6 per share despite reaffirming the earning guidance a couple weeks earlier. On this news, Portland General’s share price fell $3.95, or nearly 10%, during after-hours trading on August 24, 2020, and has yet to recover.