ThinkEquity & Merriman Curhan Ford are out with downgrades of First Solar following earnings.
ThinkEquity downgrades from Buy to Hold
Merriman Curhan Ford downgrades from Buy to Neutral. “We are downgrading to Neutral given the uncertain business outlook in 2H10 despite a strong 4Q09 and management reaffirming its 2010 earnings guidance. Solar module makers are expected to face revenue and margin volatility as a result of changing conditions in overcapacity and FiT policies. (We would … Read the rest
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) is out this morning updating its outlook for the 4th quarter and traders aren’t liking the outlook for a lower gross margin due to higher processing costs, defective production equipment and clearing of old inventory. On the bright side, the company does expect shipments to be slightly higher than previous estimates of 128 – 138MW. Canadian Solar will report earnings on March 3rd.
Shares are down about 10% in premarket trading, but … Read the rest
Itron (ITRI) reported strong earnings results after the bell last night and two brokerages came out with notes on the quarter today. Needham upgraded Itron from Hold to Buy and raised the price target to $69 while Janco Partners downgraded it from Accumulate to Market Perform due to valuation and lack of international growth. Hat tip to Street Insider for the following analyst comments:
Janco: “Yesterday the Company reported fourth quarter results after the close … Read the rest
Capstone Turbine (CPST) shares are down about 10% in after hours trading after announcing it intends to offer shares of common stock in an public offering. No word on how many shares the company will offer, but it’s expected to price before the bell tomorrow.
There is strong support in CPST at around 1.10 which happens to be the 200 day moving average. Should it close below 1.10, a move to the buck level becomes … Read the rest
Not sure how we missed this one this morning. Valence Technology (VLNC) landed a big deal today and will be the lithium battery supplier to the world’s largest yacht manufacturer, BJ Technologie. They will be the exclusive provider for all new Beneteau Group hybrid electric yachts, sailboats and motorboats that use the ZF Marine hybrid drive system with potential revenue of $9 million over the next year. I can’t imagine there is a strong market … Read the rest
First Solar (FSLR) has just reported earnings results and they are impressive at least compared to very conservative analyst estimates. The company smashed EPS estimates of 1.49/share and the whisper number of 1.42/share by posting 1.65/share, but that is a decrease from last quarter and just a hair above the year ago quarter. Revenues were more impressive at $640 million which is a nearly 50% bump from the year ago quarter and 30% higher than … Read the rest
Appliance Recycling Centers of America just announced that their contract with Xcel Energy has been extended through the end of 2010. Under the contract, Appliance Recycling Centers of America will provide refrigerator recycling services to Xcel’s customers. Xcel is offering a $35 incentive to each residential customer who disposes of an old refrigerator, in order to encourage them to trade old appliances in for new, more efficient ones.
The analysts are tripping over themselves to make a call on First Solar (FSLR) ahead of earnings tonight. Add Brigantine Advisors to that list. The firm has upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to Buy and set the price target at $145 per share. Hat tip to Street Insider for the following analyst comment:
“News out of the solar sector has generally been negative over the last few months: a mostly inconclusive climate summit in Copenhagen, delays … Read the rest
GT Solar (SOLR) has announced a $20 million order from Jiangxi Sornid Hi-Tech for GT Solar’s GT-DSS450 ingot growth furnaces and ancillary equipment and services. Revenues are expected to be recognized in future quarters.
SOLR CEO Tom Gutierrez commented on the growth in China, saying, “We are seeing an increase in bookings for our GT-DSS450 furnaces in China as customers begin to add new production capacity to position themselves for the next phase of growth … Read the rest
More good news out of Itron (ITRI) tonight. The company announced strong quarterly earnings results and also a big contract with Yorkshire Water of the UK. The five year contract calls for outfitting up to a million commercial and residential water meters with Itron’s next generation EverBlu AMR technology which will allow Yorkshire to collect meter reads remotely and provide customers and utilities with important usage data to increase efficiency.