Chinese solar makers Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) both announced results for their first quarters. Suntech managed to beat revenue expectations, posting sales of $409.5 million versus a consensus estimate of $406 million. But the total reflects a decline of -34.9% sequentially and 53.3% year-over-year. The company posted an EPS loss of -$0.74 compared with an estimate of -$0.50. Gross margins fell to just 0.6%, down from 9.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 20.8% in the same period a year ago.

Trina did even more poorly. Revenues totaled $350 million versus a consensus estimate of $398.5 million and the loss per ADR totaled -$0.42 compared with an estimated loss of -$0.29. Gross margins came in at 13.3%, but the company’s operating margin fell to -11.4%, somewhat better than the operating margin of -14.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Profits and margins for both companies include reserves taken to pay the anti-dumping duties recently approved the US Department of Commerce.

Of the solar makers, only Renesola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) put up solid enough numbers for the first quarter to enjoy any kind of bump in share price. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) posted a surprise EPS loss for the first quarter and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) missed on revenues while coming in slightly ahead of EPS estimates. Chinese solar maker LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) posted horrible results in its fourth quarter and expected results for the first quarter don’t look good either. Neither do estimates for JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) or Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE).

Suntech said it expects shipments to increase by 20% in the second quarter and gross margins to improve to 3%-6%. The company maintained its full-year shipment guidance of 2,100-2,500 megawatts.

Trina forecast shipment growth of about 31%-37% in the second quarter and gross margins of around 10%. For the full year the company expects to ship 2,000-2,100 megawatts.

Shares of Suntech have fallen about -2.5% by early afternoon today to $1.93 in a 52-week range of $1.70-$8.50. Trina’s shares are up 0.75% at $5.37 in a 52-week range of $5.20-$23.64.

Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down 74 points to 12,368.47 (-0.59%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 35 points (-1.24%) to 2,778.79, and the S&P 500 fell -0.74% or nearly 10 points to 1,295.17.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a target price of $135 at Canaccord Genuity; Dendreon Inc. (NASDAQ: DNDN) started as ‘sell’ at Maxim; Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank; Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) started as ‘buy’ at UBS; and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) raised to ‘buy’ at Guggenheim.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: ANN Inc. (NYSE: ANN) is up 3.25% at $26.69; Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (NYSE: BWS) is up 21.4% at $10.63 (more coverage here); Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) is down -0.1% at $21.32; and Footlocker Inc. (NYSE: FL) is up 8.9% at $30.50.

Next week we are scheduled to get earnings reports fromTech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD); Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN); Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO); Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY); Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL); PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM); Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL); Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG); and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) among others.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) is down -20% at $4.99. The Chinese Internet company is getting whacked on Facebook’s IPO. More coverage here.

GSV Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: GSVC) is down -18.6% at $13.10. The investment company had a nice hunk of Facebook shares at a very low price — all the value is in today. More coverage here.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is down -16.3% at $6.92 after posting a 52-week low of $6.90 earlier today. Another stock that climbed on Facebook’s back during the run-up to the IPO, shares were stopped by an automatic trigger shortly after FB shares opened today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Monday. Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales
• 10:00 a.m. – Richmond Fed manufacturing index
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

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Paul Ausick

Commerce preliminarily determined that Chinese producers/exporters sold solar cells in the United States at dumping margins ranging from 31.14 percent to 249.96 percent.

By ITA’s definition, “dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than fair value.”

Two Chinese companies, Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL), will have to pay “dumping margins” (tariffs) of 31.22% and 31.14%, respectively. An additional 59 companies and subsidiaries, including Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ, Hanwha Solarone Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL), Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), and JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), will pay dumping margins of 31.18%.

The government of China has already rejected the findings, and the Associated Press reports that a Commerce Ministry official said, “The U.S. ruling is unfair, and the Chinese side expresses its extreme dissatisfaction.”

In reality, the Chinese got off easy. The dumping margins are set at the absolutely lowest end of the scale. In March the Commerce Department hit the Chinese makers with tariffs of less than 5%, far below the 100% tariff demanded by SolarWorld and its co-complainants.

The Commerce Department even left the Chinese makers a way out:

Modules, laminates, and panels produced in a third-country from cells produced in the PRC are covered by this investigation; however, modules, laminates, and panels produced in the PRC from cells produced in a third-country are not covered by this investigation.

So China can move its solar cell manufacturing to Thailand or the Philippines or Vietnam, re-import the parts to China for final assembly, and sell the finished goods in the US without penalty, and presumably at whatever price the manufacturers want.

The largest part of the US solar industry is also likely to be dissatisfied by the preliminary ruling. Companies like Real Goods Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL) and SolarCity — which has filed for an IPO — have been able to turn low prices for solar panels into a healthy installation business. US solar makers First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR), and MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) all own their own project management and installation businesses as well.

Yesterday’s ruling by the ITA is a not much more than a loss of face to China’s makers, while it could be a real job-killer in the US. Anyone who believes that manufacturing solar cells and modules in the US will become a massive industry probably also believes in the Easter Bunny.

A final ruling on the case is not due until November, and appeals are possible — and likely — fairly quickly.

The ITA’s preliminary ruling is available here.

Most Chinese solar stocks are trading higher in the pre-market this morning. That should tell you all you need to know about this ruling.

Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down 156 points to 12,442.49 (-1.24%), the NASDAQ fell more than 60 points (-2.10%) to 2,813.69, and the S&P 500 fell -1.50% or nearly 20 points to 1,304,87.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) raised to ‘neutral’ at Sterne Agee; IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE) raised to ‘strong buy’ at Raymond James; SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) reiterated as ‘buy’ but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reiterated as ‘buy’ with target price of $96 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is down -7.3% at $4.09; Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is down -5.6% at $95.60; E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is down -16.6% at $6.25 (more coverage here); GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is down -10.1% at $18.72 (more coverage here); Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is up 3.9% at $52.84; and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is up 4.7% at $61.97 (more coverage here).

On Friday we are scheduled to get earnings from ANN Inc. (NYSE: ANN), Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (NYSE: BWS), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), and Footlocker Inc. (NYSE: FL).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Rosetta Genomics Ltd. (NASDAQ: ROSG) is down -17.7% at $4.11. The medical diagnostics firm priced a secondary offering this morning. More coverage here.

Dendreon Inc. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is down -11.3% at $7.65. The company’s prostate cancer drug got another challenge from a competing product from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). More coverage here.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is down -21.4% at $1.68 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.63. The solar component maker lost its CFO today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. We don’t have anything on the schedule for tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll have a quiet day.

Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 34 points to 12,820.53 (-0.27%), the NASDAQ rose less than 1 point (0.01%) to 2,933.82, and the S&P 500 fell -0.34% or nearly 5 points to 1,353.38.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) maintained ‘outperform’ but estimates cut at Credit Suisse (more coverage here); AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) cut to ‘neutral’ with a target price of $20 at Credit Suisse; Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) raised to ‘buy’ at Jefferies and to ‘outperform’ at Leerink Swann.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) is up 7.3% at $70.99 after posting a new 52-week high of $72.47 earlier today (more coverage here); ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is up 5.6% at $1.89 (more coverage here); Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) is up 6.9% at $13.28 (more coverage here); and Uranium Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) is down -2.4% at $0.80.

On Monday we are scheduled to get earnings from Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), InterOil Corp. (NYSE: IOC), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), Kior Corp. (NASDAQ: KIOR), and Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

A number of ETFs had reverse splits of 1-for-5 today, and showed gains of 400% as a result. These included the ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 (AMEX: SPXU) and other ProShares funds.

Arena Pharmaceuticals is up 76.2% at $6.45 after posting a new 52-week high of $7.01 earlier today. The drug maker received FDA approval to sell its lorcaserin diet drug in the US. Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) and Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) also have similar drugs in development and posted nice gains today as well.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is down -10.7% at $15.35 after posting a new 52-week low of $15.21 earlier today. The company filed is proxy statement with the SEC today and it’s a doozy. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auction

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Paul Ausick

When the company reported fourth quarter earnings in March, it set expectations for the first quarter fairly low: shipments of 400-420 megawatts of modules and wafers and revenues of $180-$190 million. Now it might be that Renesola was managing expectations, but based on today’s results and the fourth quarter’s report, the company appears to have won its first battle with managing costs. That solution has so far eluded First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE), and JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO). Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is scheduled to report earnings later today and analysts expect an EPS loss of -$1.07 on revenue of just $158.9 million, about half the revenue of a year ago.

In March, Renesola’s CEO said this about his company’s cost structure:

Although we achieved our year-end cost-reduction targets, which placed our cost structure among the lowest in the industry, it was not enough to offset extremely low solar wafer and module prices.

In the first quarter the company’s module manufacturing cost fell to $0.74/watt and Renesola expects to lower that to $0.70/watt in the second quarter. Half the cost savings will come from lower wafer costs and the rest from lower pricing for polysilicon. The company is vertically integrated and makes its own wafers and polysilicon, which helps keep its costs down.

For the first quarter Renesola had positive gross margin of 9% on its solar modules while its overall gross margin was negative, -3.8%. That’s not good, but it’s a lot better than the negative gross margin of -28.1% the company posted in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter of 2011 gross margin rang in at 21%. Those were the days.

Shares in Renesola are up nearly 12% in pre-market trading, at $2.00, in a 52-week range of $1.45-$8.83.

Paul Ausick

Two of China’s five large solar PV makers will report quarterly results later this month. Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) reports on May 17th and is expected to post an EPS loss of $0.29 on revenues of $396.3 million, a revenue decline of about -28% compared with the same period last year. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) reports on May 15th and the consensus estimates call for an EPS loss of -$0.21 on revenue of $448.8 million, a drop of nearly -15% in revenues year-over-year.

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) won’t report first quarter earnings until later, but it posted a huge EPS loss of -$4.63 in the fourth quarter and is expected to show an EPS loss of -$0.88 on revenue of $265.4 million, a revenue drop of more than -65% year-over-year. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) also reports late, but its fourth quarter EPS loss totaled -$0.76 and first quarter estimates call for an EPS loss of -$0.50 on revenue of $410.9 million, a -53% dive in sales. JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) reports later as well, following a fourth quarter loss of -$0.11 and estimates for another EPS loss of -$0.15 on revenues of $234.7 million, a revenue decline of more than -57%.

First Solar’s quarterly sales of $497 million were $163 million lower sequentially and $70 million lower than the same period a year ago. The adjusted EPS loss for the quarter was -$0.08, and the GAAP loss was a whopping -$5.20/share, some $4.64 of which went to cover restructuring charges and another $0.48 covered excess warranty expenses. Analysts had consensus estimates for EPS of $0.59 on revenue of $681.5 million.

SunPower’s quarterly revenues came in light as well, at $494.1 million versus an estimate of $525.4 million. The adjusted EPS loss of -$0.12 was better than the estimated loss of -$0.15.

The dismal report notwithstanding, First Solar raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance from $3.75-$4.25 to $4.00-$4.50, compared with a consensus estimate of $4.07. The company also anticipates an increase in its operating cash flow, from $800-$900 million to a new range of $850-$950 million.

SunPower said next quarter’s EPS loss would range from -$0.20 to -$0.05, compared with a consensus estimate of -$0.05. The second quarter revenue estimate was unchanged at $575-$650 million versus a consensus estimate of $638.9 million.

First Solar and SunPower are both restructuring (shrinking) as fast as they can with an eye toward lowering costs to a level at which the companies can again make a profit. The catch is that their Chinese competitors are doing the same thing, and in this race to the bottom there can never be a real winner. Any companies left standing will be staggering badly.

First Solar’s shares are down more than -5.5% today at $17.05 after posting a new 52-week low of $16.93 earlier. The previous range was $17.50-$142.22. SunPower’s shares are down about -1.8% at $5.60 in a 52-week range of $4.94-$23.36.

The Chinese companies are mixed, with Yingli up about 3% and JA Solar down about -3% with the others spread around in between.

Paul Ausick

No such luck. For the quarter the company reported a loss per diluted ADS of -$4.63 compared with a consensus estimate for a loss of -$0.85. Revenue for the quarter came in at $420.2 million versus an estimate of $431.6 million. Gross margins were not only negative, they were abysmal — -65.5%. In the same period a year ago, gross margins were 27.3%.

Other solar makers like First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) had rotten fourth quarter results, but nothing like this. First Solar is expected to post EPS of $0.59/share in the first quarter, after delivering EPS of $1.26 in the fourth quarter, a big miss on expectations. Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is expected to recover a bit in the first quarter, with an EPS loss of $0.29 compared with a loss of $0.93 in the fourth quarter. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is expected to post an EPS loss of $0.50 in the first quarter, better than the company’s loss of -$0.76 in the fourth quarter. JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) put up a loss of -$0.11 in the fourth quarter and is expected to post an EPS loss of -$0.15 in the first quarter. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) put up a loss of -$0.38 last quarter and is expected to improve to a loss of -$0.21 this quarter.

More than half of LDK’s quarterly loss was due to writedowns:

During the preparation of its fourth quarter 2011 financial results, LDK Solar’s management determined that an inventory write-down and provision for firm purchase commitment of $232.6 million was required as a result of the significant drop in market price for polysilicon, wafers and modules during the fourth quarter. As a result, gross margin and results from operations were negatively impacted in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

The total loss for the quarter amounted to $531.4 million. LDK is not particularly optimistic either:

In 2012, we expect that excess capacity and further policy uncertainties in Europe and the U.S. will result in continued intense competition within the solar industry.

The company forecasts revenue of $2.0-$2.7 billion, with a prior consensus estimate of $2.19 million. The expected ADS loss in 2012 is $1.37, but that is almost sure to drop after today.

The question for LDK and the other Chinese solar maker is whether or not the government will ride to their rescue. In late 2010, the government made more than $25 billion in loans available to its solar makers so that the companies could expand production. That idea didn’t work out too well, so now the country and the country’s solar industry must go to Plan B. And that has to include consolidation and picking winners. LDK is probably not on the list.

LDK’s shares are down just over -1% in the pre-market at $2.93 in a 52-week range of $2.55-$11.73.

Paul Ausick

Stocks of China’s biggest solar PV makers are getting a boost from the news, with Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) up 4.9%, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) up 3.7%, LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) up 2.4%, JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) up 2.9%, and Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) up 0.6%.

The stocks slid earlier this week following the US Commerce Department’s decision to apply a tariff to solar panels imported into the US, and could slide further as the anti-dumping case proceeds to a conclusion.

Paul Ausick

Solar makers Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE: YGE), Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL), Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), and LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) are trading down between -5% and -11% this morning. US solar makers First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Sunpower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) are also trading lower, likely because the miniscule tariffs won’t help their sales much either.

Yingli is down more than -10% at $3.83 in a 52-week range of $2.75-$13.14.

Trina Solar is down about -7% at $7.79 in a 52-week range of $5.28-$30.45.

Suntech is down -9% at $3.25 in a 52-week range of $1.70-$9.98.

JA Solar is down nearly -7% at $1.77 in a 52-week range of $1.21-$7.75.

LDK Solar is down nearly -6% at $4.29 in a 52-week range of $2.55-$12.42.

First Solar is down about -4.6% at $26.20 in a 52-week range of $25.29-$163.00.

Sunpower is down about -4.8% at $6.96 in a 52-week range of $4.94-$23.36.

Now that’s a litany of misery if ever there was one.

Paul Ausick