TradingMarkets.com is reporting that a group of Chinese solar power companies has presented a plan to the Chinese Ministry of Science to try to drop the cost of producing solar power to 1 yuan/KWH within two years. Particpants in the plan include Solar Power Technologies, Trina Solar, Canadian Solar Inc, LDK Solar and Solarfun Power Holdings Co.
According to TradingMarkets.com,
… Read the restAn industry insider said it’s feasible to carry out the plan, which combines companies
Trina Solar just announced a new sales agreement with GA Solar. Under the terms of the one-year contract, Trina Solar will provide 20 to 36 MW of PV modules to GA Solar throughout 2009. The modules will be sold at the prices specified in the agreement.
Mr. Arturo Herrero, Trina Solar’s Sales and Marketing VP, commented on the deal:
… Read the rest"We are excited to have entered into this sales agreement which affirms our successful long-term supply
Trina Solar issued a statement describing the companies operational highlights for the 4th quarter of 2008. The company managed to meet its solar module shipment target, shipping between 55 and 60 MW. Also, it was able to reduce the non-silicon-related costs of manufacturing its solar modules by approximately .13 per watt.
Here’s what Trina Solar’s Chairman and CEO, Mr. Jifan Gao, had to say about his company’s 4th quarter operational highlights:
… Read the rest"Despite lower module selling
Trina Solar is launching a new brand of Upgraded Metallurgical Grade ("UMG") silicon-based solar modules and products. The brand will be called MeSolar, and is an attempt to address consumer demand for solar products that offer both reliability and cost savings.
Arturo Herrero, Trina Solar’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, explained the new brand strategy:
… Read the restThe product line is part of Trina Solar’s strategy to expand its product portfolio in order to address customers’
Trina Solar (TSL) is down nearly 10% in premarket trading after beating estimates for both EPS and revenues for the quarter but guiding below for Q4 and full year 08. The company reported an EPS of 1.17, good for a 318% increase over the year ago quarter and topping estimates by .07 on revenues of 290.7 million (beating estimates by about a million).
However, it’s always about guidance and it wasn’t good. The company cut … Read the rest
It’s getting late but wanted to run down the upgrades/downgrades of today as well as a few notes..
Lazard Capital Markets analyst Sanjay Shrestha said this week that although macroeconomic factors continue to depress alternative energy stocks, the future looks bright. “We believe Barack Obama’s election is a long-term positive for the alternative energy group,” Shrestha said. “Until the financial markets show signs of stability, the economy will likely continue to overshadow other policy agenda … 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
Solar stocks were up nicely today and the option volume spiked in many of the names.
The following showed up on my nightly scan for highest % change in option volume above its 10 day average:
SOLF 576%
LDK 346%
TSL 223%
STP 197%
YGE 196%
Most of the volume came from call buying so it will be interesting to see if these bullish bets pay off.… Read the rest
Goldman Sachs is out this morning with several calls on solar stocks:
Upgrades
* Upgraded Applied Materials (AMAT) from Sell to Buy and added to their Conviction Buy List
* Upgrades Yingli Green Energy (YGE) from Neutral to Buy but cut price target from $20 to $9
* Upgrades Trina Solar (TSL) from Sell to Neutral but cuts price target from $24 to $12
Maintain
* Maintains Buy rating on Suntech Power (STP) but cuts … Read the rest
As if to provide a large middle finger to FBR analyst Mehdi Hosseini, who yesterday cut the target price of Trina Solar (TSL) in half based on silicon supply shortages, Trina Solar (TSL) is out this morning actually raising its guidance, citing strong sales and distribution of products. The company now expects 3rd quarter revenues in the range of 285 – 294 million, up from a range of 250 -265.
“We expect to strengthen … Read the rest