MEMC Electronics (WFR) was punished yesterday after missing Wall St estimates and appears to be on its way to test all time lows around $10, but the stock may get some relief buying today following two upgrades from Gabelli and Credit Suisse.
Credit Suisse upgraded WFR from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $17 to $19 (nearly a double from today’s prices).
According to Notable Calls, Credit Suisse sees semi prices increasing as supply tightens while WFR increases market share. They see 60% semi wafer shipment growth this year. The firm believes that the company focused too much on the solar poly biz, resulting in poor performance across the company as a whole. Management is moving the company back to its core strength in semis. Despite concerns about the Sun Edison acquisition and missed analyst estimates, Credit Suisse sees much brighter days ahead. Be sure to check out the full analysis from Notable Calls, it’s a good one.
Gabelli has also upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy.
Shares are up about 4% in premarket trading.\