First Solar’s surprising news came Oct. 25.

“The Board of Directors of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) today asked its Chairman and company founder, Mike Ahearn, to serve as interim Chief Executive Officer. Ahearn has accepted. Effective immediately, Rob Gillette is no longer serving as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board of Directors thanks him for his service to the company,” First Solar said in a press release.

The unexpected announcement led to a 25 percent stock sell-off, which prompted another surprise move, announcing the company’s third-quarter 2011 earnings On Oct. 26, despite the company saying it would announce earnings on Nov. 3.

“It certainly isn’t normal. I’m sure management would’ve rather waited for their stated November 3rd date rather than releasing earnings early, but it appears that yesterday’s 25 percent sell off prompted them to bump up the date to reassure the market that the reason for the dismissal was for management accountability, rather than an outright crisis,” said Alex Morris, senior research associate at Raymond James.

There will be speculation as to why the company chose to oust Gillette rather than wait until after reporting third-quarter results as planned, but the results show the company is not in a deep crisis.

In a research note released prior to the First Solar’s third-quarter earnings’ release, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov speculated that the worst case scenario was an accounting scandal.

Other scenarios could have included a major earnings miss, poor stock performance, or a dispute over a potential sale of the company, perhaps even to GE.

“Earlier this month, we encountered market speculation about First Solar possibly getting acquired by General Electric,” Molchanov wrote. However, Raymond James didn’t think the latter would be the case, given that GE bought PrimeStar solar and will soon build its first production plant with that technology in Colorado.

Ultimately, it looks like the more neutral assumptions are the most likely. The company reported third-quarter 2011 results that, while positive, were below company and market estimates.

“While they did improve quarterly, the market already knew that the company would recognize several large projects in the third quarter. However, gross margin came in 140 basis points below our estimate, while operating expense was higher. Earnings per share of $2.25 were below our $2.40 estimate and the Street’s $2.64,” Morris said.

These look like the major contributing factors behind the dismissal.

“Shares are down well over half [year to date], and the CEO is ultimately responsible. It appears that the Board is doing its part to hold management accountable,” Morris said. “Keep in mind, though, that nearly every solar stock is down over 50 percent, and we haven’t seen other high profile companies make similar moves.”

First Solar reported net sales of $1 billion in the quarter, up from $473 million in the second quarter and, on a year-over-year basis, up from $798 million in the third quarter of 2010.

The results also prompted the company to lower its full-year earnings per share estimates to $6.50 to $7.50 from $9 to &9.50. The company will still hold a conference call on Nov. 3 to discuss results.