Sunrun stock tumbles in wake of SEC investigation

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Sunrun stock reached its lowest point since May 2016 at the close of trade yesterday, falling 8.8% at US$4.75 per share. Source: Sunrun

Shares of residential solar company Sunrun fell nearly 10% in trading yesterday after news broke of the investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on whether the company adequately disclosed how many customers had cancelled contracts.

The stock of the San Francisco-based firm dropped 8.8% down to US$4.75 at the close of trading in New York; the lowest it had fallen in more than 11 months.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The SEC has already issued a subpoena to Sunrun and interviewed past and current employees. The Commission is “also looking into SolarCity” according to a filing.  

While some solar companies have disclosed that increasing numbers of customers have cancelled contracts, they have not given specific numbers or many details.

Contract cancellations are a potential indicator of how well these companies are faring.

Sunrun emailed a statement to Bloomberg saying that the solar install figures it discloses account for cancelled contracts.

“We only provide guidance on installations and not on bookings and we have been within 1% of our annual guidance to investors in both 2015 and 2016 when we have been public,” Edward Fenster, Sunrun’s chairman, said in the statement.

According to Bloomberg, Sunrun installed 282MW of solar last year, only 3MW shy of its forecast install figures.

The news comes as SolarCity parent company Tesla reported a 25% drop in solar install figures for Q1 2017. Tesla also recently announced it is abandoning the door-to-door sales strategy used by SolarCity and many others in the industry.

Overall, the residential solar industry has taken some rap for high-pressure sales strategies and the investigation could reveal that Sunrun’s greater problem is it is pushing customers away with strong-armed tactics.

If the investigation reveals material information about cancellations of solar system contracts that is not currently being disclosed by companies, it could be a real concern for investors. 

Law firms Pomerantz and Rosen are investigating the potential securities claims on behalf of Sunrun shareholders.

17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.
7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.

Read Next

June 9, 2025
Solar manufacturer Qcells has launched a recycling arm, called EcoRecycle, and a recycling plant in the US state of Georgia.
June 9, 2025
Growing political headwinds threaten to dent US solar manufacturing and project deployment, despite a strong start to 2025.
June 9, 2025
US residential solar installer Sunnova has laid off more than half of its workforce, while a subsidiary from Delaware filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
June 6, 2025
rPlus Energies has secured more than US$500 million for an 800MW solar-plus-storage project in Emery County, Utah, US.  
June 6, 2025
Eternal Sun has acquired German solar simulator provider Wavelabs, which has resulted in the formation of a new subsidy, Wavelabs Eternal Sun.
June 6, 2025
Australia’s Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has called on Australia’s climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, to “urgently intervene” on a rule change that could threaten to derail the uptake of rooftop solar PV.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece