FireEye shares fall in premarket trading after CFO says he will depart, 2Q loss widens

Shares of cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ:FEYE) fell in premarket trading Friday, the morning after the company's chief financial officer said he was leaving.

Michael Sheridan had been CFO since 2011. The company said he is leaving in early August to become CFO at a private technology company in in an unrelated industry.

Frank Verdecanna, vice president of finance, will serve as interim CFO.

"Mike helped build FireEye from an early-stage technology pioneer to a global leader in advanced threat protection," said DeWalt, CEO and chairman of the board of FireEye.

FireEye has grown quickly in recent months as hackers invade the computer systems of major companies with greater frequency and their corporate victims scramble to contain the damage and prevent future intrusions.

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FireEye, based in Silicon Valley and staffed with a roster of former military and law-enforcement cyberexperts, has been called in to investigate the high-profile cyberattacks against Target, JPMorgan Chase, Sony Pictures, Anthem and others.

Despite the early share drop, FBR & Co analyst Daniel Ives called Sheridan's departure a "non-event."

"CEO David DeWalt remains the face of FireEye on the Street," he said.

Stifel analyst Gur Taipez agreed.

"While senior management changes can create elements of confusion among investors, we note our belief that Mr. Sheridan's departure is a personal choice and is in no way indicative of any issues with FireEye," he said in a note.

Meanwhile, the Milpitas, California-based company reported a loss of 87 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, came to 41 cents per share. That was smaller than the 48 cents per share loss analysts expected, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue jumped 56 percent to $1472. Million, ahead of the $143 million analysts expected.