I think it is rational panic. ASICMINER's dividends have steadily been decreasing, as well as Friedcat's updates. Yes, he's online daily, but he hasn't posted an update since Aug 9th after posting on a weekly basis which in my mind helped the value of ASICMINER.

The Hash Rate percentage relative to the Network has steadily been decreasing. I think the valuation of ASICMINER in relation to it's dividends is sitting at about a 26% APR (no reinvestment) as of today's dividend, and in the past I've seen the APR sit as high at 30%, so maybe the asset could drop even more if dividends stay at the current percent.

I haven't been following hardware sales so I cannot speak to that.