* Merriman Curhan Ford downgrades from Buy to Neutral
“While we continue to believe ECD has compelling and differentiated technology that can resist the pricing pressure caused by the glut of global module supply, the company is certainly not immune the to dismal credit markets. Data from California’s Solar … Read the rest
Recently, many of the solar stocks have been holding up relatively well in the face of bad news indicating that much of it had been priced in and a bottom in this sector was near. I still believe that to be the case but their will be hiccups along way such as the Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) poor outlook after the bell today. The stock is being punished more than 25% in after hours trading.. … Read the rest
Are the tides turning for the solar industry? After months of doom and gloom forecasts, downgrades and price target cuts some upgrades and positive notes are beginning to slowly trickle in from analysts. Ah oh, time to sell!
Barron’s reported today that Merrill Lynch came out with a report today saying that improving second derivative trends suggest the industry is headed for a cyclical bottom. They went on to say that while demand won’t recover … Read the rest
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) continues on the path of growth but like the rest of the industry isn’t immune to soft estimates for this year. The company reported a profit of .33/share which beat estimates of .31/share and is a big improvement over the year ago quarter in which the company posted a loss of .08/share. Revenues nearly doubled over the year ago quarter to $103 million and also exceeded estimates by a bit.
According to analysts at MDB Capital, if you’re holding on to Ener1 stock, now may be the time to let it go. The reason? Think Global, Ener1’s major customer, has run into some financial difficulties. Here’s a quote from the analysts published on StreetInsider.com:
"Think Global, Ener1’s most important near-term customer, announced it was temporarily halting production of its Think City electric vehicle due to working capital constraints. The company, which unsuccessfully approached the
Forbes.com notes that the stock prices of major solar power companies like LDK and JA Solar Holdings fell yesterday, as the companies continue to face difficulties from reduced demand and lack of credit.
Here’s a roundup of the stocks they profiled in the article referenced above:
SunPower Corp- dropped $2.18 to close at $42.97, a price decrease of 4.8 percent
JA Solar Holdings- dropped .10 to close at $4.99, a 2 percent decrease
Ener1 announced yesterday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese power and utility giant Kyushu Electric Power (KEPCO). Per the memorandum of understanding, the two companies will work together to develop and produce rapid charging stands for electric vehicles. They will use KEPCO’s existing rapid charging station, already in use in Japan, as a base, and customize it with the EnerDel High Energy Pack System from Ener1. The new systems, expected to … Read the rest
Gene Marcial of BusinessWeek is touting Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) as a top thin film solar pure play and believes its shares will surge higher again once solar stocks come back into favor. ENER’s proprietary technologies allow solar cells to be embedded into roofing materials.
“We view its thin-film solar technology as superior to, and differentiated from, the more established and commodity-like polysilicon-based solar technology,” says Angelo Zino, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s Equity … Read the rest
According to StreetInsider.com, Piper Jaffray has lowered the price target of Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) from $56 to $38 but maintains its neutral rating.
The firm notes that “ENER management guided to flat to slightly down ASPs for FY09 which seems difficult to achieve in our opinion given the dramatic decline in polysilicon module prices. The company maintained revenue guidance for FY09 and tightened solar GM guidance to 34%…We believe that ENER may run … Read the rest
According to Barrons, Wedge Partners was out with a research note this morning saying that the China based solar companies are slowing production in anticipation of falling demand and prices.
Some highlights:
– Suntech (STP) is laying off about 10% of its employees, idled half its production lines and shelved plans to expand to 1.2GW by the end of the year
– JA Solar (JASO) is seeing customer orders down drastically and half of its … Read the rest
Green Alternative Energy Stocks – Solar, Wind, LED Lighting,Smart Grid, Electric/Hybrid Cars, Wave Energy, Green Building, Biofuels & Geothermal