According to Barrons Barclays initiated coverage of the LED sector yesterday with ratings on Cree Inc (CREE), Veeco Instruments (VECO) and Aixtron (AIXG) which are what I’d call the top tier LED plays.
VECO gets the highest rating at Overweight. They like the fact the company is now an LED pure play with growth China.
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CREE and AIXG get Equalweight ratings. They see limited upside … Read the rest
Yesterday First Solar (FSLR) raised its shipment guidance for 2011 and now sees shipments increasing 380MW over previous estimates due to signed agreements with seven key customers that will primarily serve European markets.
"Our customers continue to expect robust growth in the market for solar electricity in Europe next year," said Stephan Hansen, managing director of First Solar’s European sales and customer service organization. "The additional volumes will allow First Solar to continue to scale … Read the rest
Barclays came out with a few calls yesterday, maintaining its Equalweight rating on both Itron (ITRI) and American Superconductor (AMSC).
The firm has a $70 price target on ITRI which is about 15% higher than the current price. They are raising 2010 estimates from $3.35 to $3.65 and 2011 estimates from $3.67 to $4.06. Shares of ITRI are increasingly bullish in recent weeks, getting back above resistance of the 50 day moving average. In my … Read the rest
Barclays upgraded ReneSola (SOL) from Equalweight to Overweight and increased the price target from $10 – $12.
“Although SOL has been our near-term top pick since Mar ’10, uncertainty with respect to 2011 demand and weak execution track record were some of the factors restraining us from having a more constructive longer term outlook on the shares. We now expect wafer market fundamentals to remain relatively robust in 2011.”
Barclays is upgrading two green stocks this morning – both A123 Systems (AONE) and MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) get upgrades to Overweight from Equal Weight and price targets raised from $12 to $14 and $14 to $16 respectively.
Shares of AONE are trading up about 3% in pre-market trading after successfully clearing important resistance of the 50 day moving average on Friday. Shares of WFR are also trading up about 3% and continue to look … Read the rest
Auriga has reversed its call after last week’s selling, upgrading SunPower (SPWRA) from Sell to Hold. “Shares of SPWRA are now trading below our price target of $15 and are essentially 1.0x book value of $14.26.” The firm expects the company’s presentation following its earnings report tomorrow to be optimistically bullish. While demand for solar continues to improve, the still believe that margins will erode due to increasing competition and maintain the $15 price target. … Read the rest
The solars are having a decent day today on the back of a Barclays bullish call this morning. According to Street Insider, the firm upgraded Solarfun (SOLF) to Equalweight and doubled the price target which sent the stock surging 10%. They have also raised the price target on several other solar stocks. Here are the calls..
First Solar (FSLR) from $100 to $125
ReneSola (SOL) from $5 to $7
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) from $21 … Read the rest
Barcays is out with a few solar downgrades this morning..
Suntech Power (STP) gets downgraded from Overweight to Equalweight with a new price target of $12 from $16
Yingli Green Energy (YGE) downgraded from Overweight to Equalweight and price target slashed to $11 from $19
LDK Solar (LDK) downgraded from Equalweight to Underweight and price target halved to $4 from $8
Evergreen Solar (ESLR) downgraded from Equalweight to Underweight with the price target now under … Read the rest
First Solar (FSLR) will issue 2010 guidance in a webcast on Wednesday and analysts are weighing in ahead of the event.
Hat tip to StreetInsider for following the analyst comment from Pacific Crest:
Mark Bachman at Pacific Crest really went out on a limb and said the meeting should have one of two results – “up or down.” He said 2010 capex and 2011 EPS are the key metrics at the event. Long-term investors will … Read the rest
A few analyst rating changes and coverage initiations this morning…
Barclays upgraded Suntech (STP), JA Solar (JASO) and Sunpower (SPWRA) to Overweight. All three are up about 8% today with STP and JASO breaking out of bases on the upgrade.
Wedbush Morgan isn’t quite as positive on Sunpower, lowering the price target from $29 to $21, but maintains its Neutral rating. Hat tip to StreetInsider.com for the following analyst comment:
“We believe investors do not … Read the rest