Itron (ITRI) is announcing this morning that it has partnered with Sierra Wireless (SWIR) to provide real time, wireless communication to facilitate the collection of electric, gas and water meter data collection .. an important component of any smart grid. Integrating Sierra’s Wireless Airlink Intelligent M2M gateways allows communication to take place over existing cellular networks eliminating the need for costly land line solutions. The two companies will co-market the solution.
Merriman Capital initiated coverage on both Orion Energy (OESX) and Powersecure (POWR) with Buy ratings. OESX which is an efficient lighting/LED play has had a huge run off the bottom in recent weeks, but a bit overdone in the short term. It’s an LED play to keep on the radar.
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
JMP Securities is bullish on a few green stocks due to an expected increase in electricity demand which the firm sees sparking increased efforts to develop alternative energy solutions. They see good value in demand response players EnerNOC (ENOC) and Comverge (COMV) as well as US solar company Sunpower (SPWRA) and have an Outperform rating on all three.
Itron (ITRI) and Cisco (CSCO) have announced an alliance this morning to help advance the smart grid. The two will work on developing a next generation, open and interoperable, highly secure, enterprise class IPv6 based smart grid network for utilities. Itron will end up licensing and embed Cisco IP technology within its OpenWay smart grid meters as well as distribute Cisco networking equipment and software needed for full deployment of the smart grid. Truly a … Read the rest
UBS upgraded First Solar (FSLR) from Neutral to Buy and raised their price target from $136 to $150. The firm cited increased global demand. Raised 2010 EPS from $7.30 to $7.50 and 2011 EPS from $8.00 to $8.80. Shares of FSLR are up nearly 3% today and holding in well at support around the 50 and 200 day moving averages. It may be gearing up for another leg higher.… Read the rest
Piper Jaffray has resumed coverage of a few smart grid stocks according to Street Insider.
Comverge (COMV) at Overweight and $12 price target. “We believe Comverge’s diversified demand response platform, and growing presence in the commercial & industrial (C&I) segment, will result in significant revenue growth over the next 2 years with a healthy profitability inflection point being reached in 2H11.” ===> Click Here For A Free Comverge Technical Analysis
Several analyst rating changes to tell you about this morning. Hat tip to Street Insider for the analyst commentary.
Needham & Company reiterated a Buy on Echelon Corp (ELON), but lowered the price target from $11 to $10. “While uncertainty remains on the pace of uptake at utilities exploring AMI solutions as well as at current customers such as Duke, we continue to believe that Echelon has a solid technology offering that not only addresses … Read the rest
Wedbush is downgrading Itron from Outperform to Neutral and is also cutting the price target from $85 to $62. “The loss of BG&E to SSN suggests continued headwinds for Itron’s backlog growth, lowers Itron’s general credibility with existing … Read the rest
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Itron (ITRI). About two weeks ago, I wrote about Itron (ITRI) likely losing the big Sempra Energy (SRE) smart meter deal to Esco Tech (ESE) which sent the stock plummeting. However, the selling didn’t last long and the shares recovered further after posting a strong earnings report. Today, the stock ran out of steam as it was hit with not only a downgrade out of Macquarie … Read the rest
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