By Chris Nelder of GreenChipStocks.com
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There was a very exciting announcement in the world of energy this week, and I’ve been taking a hard look at it.
No, it wasn’t the Tiber field find by BP. Although peak oil deniers seized on the discovery as validation of their argument that technology will continue to make vast new reserves of oil accessible and solve the peak oil … Read the rest
A few months ago Soleil Securities downgraded FSLR from Buy to Hold but increased the price target a bit to $170. The firm just got a lot more bearish on the stock and is downgrading it again from Hold to Sell and slashing the price target from $170 to $96.
Hat tip to StreetInsider.com for the following analyst comment:
We believe the environment in which First Solar massively beats expectations each (and every) quarter has … Read the rest
OK, it’s not quite a done deal yet, but First Solar (FSLR) has signed a memorandum of understanding with China to build the world’s largest solar power plant in the desert of Inner Mongolia (Ordos City). The 2GW plant would be completed in phases over the next 10 years with a 30MW demo project to begin next summer, a 100MW and 870MW project to be completed by 2014 and the final 1000MW phase to be … 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
Some positive analyst ratings are out this morning. Here’s the rundown:
Hat tip to StreetInsider.com for the analyst comments.
First Solar (FSLR) gets a Buy rating from Merriman Curhan. The firm says, “First Solar is a leading provider of thin film solar technology primarily serving the power utility market and continues to command cost leadership at $0.87/watt vs. its silicon-base solar peer group at $2.50/watt. Solar is rapidly becoming a critical alternative energy solution … Read the rest
Lieberose Solar Farm, a solar farm now being built in Germany by juwi Group and First Solar Inc, just became the second-largest solar farm in the world, as the 560,000th solar panel was placed into installation by by German Infrastructure Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee and Brandenburg Minister President Matthias Platzeck. Once it’s finished, the project, which is being built on an old Soviet Army training site in Brandenburg, Germany, will produce 52 MW of power. … Read the rest
Deutsche Bank is out this morning maintaining its Hold rating on First Solar (FSLR) but has slashed the price target from $170 to $125. The firm believes the company is fairly valued at these levels.
Hat tip to StreetInsider.com for the following analyst comments:
“Recent pricing inputs from companies like Yingi (more substantial ASP declines) and less-than-hoped-for improvement in the demand picture for larger systems (due largely to financing availability) cause us to reassess our … Read the rest
First Solar (FSLR) has needed some good news and it some today on news it would partner with SoCo Edison on projects totaling 550MW. Several hours later it also announced a deal with the Los Angeles Dept Of Water & Power to build a solar project with a capacity of 55MW in Imperial County. Construction on this project is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2011, but still needs approval from the … Read the rest
First Solar just announced that it has signed a contract with Southern California Edison regarding the construction of 2 solar power projects in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Together, the projects will generate 550 MW of solar energy. When complete, they will produce 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity each year. As long as the projects are approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, construction is set to begin on the 250 megawatt Desert Sunlight … Read the rest
Last night I posted about Jefferies analyst Paul Clegg defending First Solar (FSLR) following the negative piece on the company in Barrons. This morning, Wedbush Morgan is out defending the company as well, assuming coverage at an Outperform with a price target of $190.
Hat tip to StreetInsider.com for the following analyst comment:
“Negative article in Barron’s is unwarranted, in our opinion. Investor concerns over the rebate program in Germany are overdone. in our opinion. … Read the rest