A few noteworthy analysts comments and rating changes in the solar space today…
Soleil Securities reiterated its Sell rating on First Solar (FSLR) but back pedaled a bit saying they are raising their estimates and wouldn’t be short heading into earnings. They still have a sub $100 price target. How’s that for conviction. Shares of FSLR were initially positive this morning, but are now trading down fractionally. Get your FSLR Trend Analysis.
Morgan Stanley … Read the rest
MEMC Electronic Materials just announced that its division SunEdison has been selected to build a 72 MW solar power plant in Rovigo, Italy. The project is expected to be the largest European solar power plant. It is expected to begin producing power in the second half of this year, and to be completely finished by the end of 2010. SunEdison is partnering with Banco Santander for financing and expects to line up other financial partners … Read the rest
MEMC Electronics (WFR) was punished yesterday after missing Wall St estimates and appears to be on its way to test all time lows around $10, but the stock may get some relief buying today following two upgrades from Gabelli and Credit Suisse.
Credit Suisse upgraded WFR from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $17 to $19 (nearly a double from today’s prices).
According to Notable Calls, Credit Suisse sees semi prices … Read the rest
MEMC Electronics (WFR) continues to struggle and missed Wall St EPS estimates after the bell today, posting another quarter of red ink at -.02/share (minus one time cost associated with Sun Edison acquisition) Wall St expected a flat quarter and the whisper number actually called for a small profit, so the stock is selling off a bit after hours, but how it trades tomorrow will depend largely on the guidance which the company will give … Read the rest
SunEdison, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, just announced that it has been selected by Xcel Energy’s subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Company to build five 10 MW solar PV installations in New Mexico, for a total of 50 MW of solar power.
Under the terms of the agreement, SunEdison will finance and build the installations and Xcel will buy the power under a 20-year purchase agreement.
In a press release, Riley Hill, president and … Read the rest
MEMC Electronic Materials just announced that they have acquired an ownership stake in Taiwanese solar wafer manufacturer Eversol. To start with, MEMC Electronic Materials amended a contract with Gintech to allow it to purchase Gintech’s 8.36% interest in Eversol at the price Gintech originally paid for it. Then, MEMC spent 5 million more on an additional 5.1 million shares, meaning that it currently owns a 10.6% stake in the company.
In a press release, … Read the rest
According to this press release, SunEdison, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, has entered an agreement with the The Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) Board of Education and SPG Solar to build solar PV installations to generate electricity for 21 school district sites.
Per the agreement, SunEdison will handle all of the upfront costs of financing, building and maintaining the installations, while the school district purchases the power. The installations will also be used to … Read the rest
MEMC Electronics (WFR) reported after the bell tonight and the headlines coming out would have you believe that the quarter was a bit of a disaster with the company posting a .29 EPS loss. Here at GreenStocks I like to dig a little bit deeper and get to what’s really going on after all the one time gains and losses. If you take out the one time restructuring and impairment charge of $39.7 million, a … Read the rest
MEMC Electronic (WFR) announced today it’s diversifying its business with the $200 million purchase of the largest North American solar services provider SunEdison. The payout will include cash and options and is expected to close by the end of the year and begin contributing to earnings in the second half of 2010.
This is a good move in my opinion and positions the company as a complete solar provider while creating greater efficiencies for … Read the rest
In a Barron’s interview this weekend, Hapoalim Securities solar analyst Gordon Johnson reiterated his bearish call on the sector due to oversupply and soft demand. He sees a supply vs demand ratio of 7.1GW:4.4GW for this year and 10.8GW:6GW for next year, so sees it getting worse, not better. When asked about the recent run in solar stocks, he attributed it to the excitement over China’s feed in tariff program and said the excitement is … Read the rest