JP Morgan is out with a bearish call on solars this morning downgrading First Solar (FSLR) and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) to Underweight and initiating coverage on Evergreen Solar (ESLR) with a Neutral.
Notable calls has all the details on the call, but here are some highlights:
– JP Morgan reiterates the same old concerns of supply and margin headwinds
– they like LED and wind energy better right now
– German tariff reset will … 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
Evergreen Solar (ESLR) continues to post steep losses and hasn’t come close to a profit in nearly two years now. After the bell today, the company posted nearly $100 million in losses, but more than half of that was related to a big write off related to the investment in Sovello. Still, it equates to a .20/share loss after the write down is taken out.
Adding insult to injury, the company ended the four quarter … Read the rest
There are certainly some things to like about Evergreen Solar (ESLR) and some things.. eh not so much. The earnings results reveal it yet again. This is a company that continues to see revenues surging faster than any other solar company, but they just can’t turn a profit. While margins improved this quarter, they just can’t get the costs down to get profitable.
Taking out the $70 million write down from the Sovello joint venture, … Read the rest
Evergreen Solar just announced that they will be introducing a new series of their String Ribbon Panels, the ES-C Series. The ES-C series is Evergreen’s first off-the-grid solar panel series. The panels can directly charge direct 12, 24 or 48 volt batteries in off-grid applications, and are designed to be easy to install while withstanding harsh weather conditions like wind and snow.
In a press release, Alan King, Director of Sales for the Americas, commented … Read the rest
Evergreen Solar just announced that it has launched a new line of solar panels aimed at customers who want to go off the grid. The ES-C Series consists of a line of 80, 120 and 125 MW solar panels are designed to provide a higher voltage to allow for direct 12, 24 or 48V battery charging. They are also built to last, even under very harsh conditions.
In a press release, Dr. Terry Bailey, Senior … Read the rest
Together with its partner Jianwei Solar, Evergreen Solar held a groundbreaking ceremony today in Wuhan, China to mark the start of the construction of their 100 MW manufacturing plants. During the ceremony, leaders from both companies were joined by political leaders from Wuhan City and Hubei province. Construction on the plant began last month and is set to be completed by next spring.
In a press release, Evergreen Solar Chairman, President and CEO Richard … Read the rest
I mentioned the upgrades in the post before. Now for the downgrades. Jefferies is out this morning cutting the entire sector and downgrading several solar companies due to the same concerns we’ve heard for many months… oversupply and lack of demand.
First Solar (FSLR) cut to Hold from Buy
SunPower (SPWRA) cut to Hold from Buy
Suntech Power (STP) cut to Underperform from Hold
Ascent Solar (ASTI) cut to Underperform from Hold
China Sunergy (CSUN) … Read the rest
Evergreen Solar just announced that it has finalized its contracts with Jiawei Solarchina Co., Ltd with the following provisions in place:
Evergreen will lease a production facility that Jiawei is building on its campus and use the facility to manufacture its String Ribbon wafers.
Jiawei will take those wafers and turn them into panels on a contract manufacturing basis. As part of the contract manufacturing agreement, Evergreen will pay Jianwei for its cell and panel … Read the rest
Evergreen Solar (ESLR) posted a non GAAP EPS loss of .08/share which matched analyst estimates on revenue that was slightly higher than estimates at $63.8 million. Considering the company nearly tripled revenues over the previous quarter, it looks like traders expected a better EPS. This is a company that clearly needs to get costs under control.
Some highlights from the CEO:
– continuing to ramp up production at Devens
– identifying cost cutting programs that … Read the rest