Shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:

) have fallen out of bed mid-day following the company's announcement that CEO Rob Gillette would be leaving the company. Chairman Michael Ahearn is to serve as interim CEO while the company initiates a search. First Solar is currently off by 21.04%, trading at $45.76. Shares were down minimally before the release, but the Street was more or less taken by surprise by this one. Since the drop implied volatility has skyrocketed by over 30%, now registering 106%. The Oct 28th weekly options are seeing very heavy trading, namely the $50, $45, and $40 strikes, all of which have exceeded open interest. Front month (November) contracts are also very active; again, the $50, $45, and $40 puts are seeing the heaviest action (each strike has exceeded open interest). Technically speaking, the breakdown is significant given that shares have been sliding since February. Next support is around $44.00, but it should be noted that this dates back to 2007 and thus is negligible (ultra long-term support levels become less relevant with each passing month). This could be a good buy point pending the fallout from Mr. Gillette. FSLR is now trading at just 4.5x forward EPS. First Solar, Inc. manufactures and sells solar modules with an advanced thin-film semiconductor technology. First Solar designs, constructs, and sells photovoltaic solar power systems.