24/7 Wall St. » SOL

Solar Saga Continues Downward Spiral (STP, TSL, SOL, FSLR, SPWR, LDK, JASO, YGE)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:52:34 +0000

The string of losses in the solar PV industry is really not news any longer. Stock prices have been hit hard by collapsing panel prices and vanishing margins. Today is really no different.

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

Filed under: Alternative Energy, China, Earnings, Green Biz Tagged: FSLR, JASO, LDK, SOL, SPWR, STP, TSL, YGE

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Administrator — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:26:14 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Wednesday.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Cut to Hold at Argus.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Raised to Neutral at Citigroup.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) Raised to Buy with $38 target at Argus.

Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) maintained Neutral but cut target to $6 from $8 at Credit Suisse.

Hatteras Financial Corporation (NYSE: HTS) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.

ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) maintained Neutral and cut target to $2.00 at Credit Suisse.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) Raised to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Solazyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBI) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Textainer Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: TGH) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.

Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AET, AKAM, BHI, CSCO, DNKN, GNW, HTS, LFC, LRCX, NVLS, PCX, SD, SOL, SZYM, TCBI, TGH, WFT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell

Paul Ausick — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:05:14 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened significantly lower this morning as investors reacted to the surprise loss of $2 billion by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) disclosed by the bank’s CEO after trading closed last night (more coverage here and on the 24/7 Wall St. Wire). A drop in the producer price index (coverage here) and a rise in consumer sentiment (coverage here) put some air back into equities, particularly in the tech sector. Only the Nasdaq has been able to show a positive gain today, with about an hour left to closing, but the other two major indexes are down only fractionally. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.20% at 80.272. The GSCI commodity index is down about 0.1% at 647.50, with commodities mostly lower today on the stronger dollar. Soybeans and canola were the big losers. WTI crude oil closed down -1% at $96.13/barrel and Brent crude trades down -0.54% at $112.12/barrel. Gold settled down -0.7% today, at $1,584.00/ounce, down 4% for the week.

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

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, ARNA, BBY, CHK, DDS, GRPN, IOC, JASO, JPM, KIOR, NVDA, OREX, SLW, SOL, SPXU, T, URRE, VVUS, VZ

Renesola: Finally Some Good News in the Solar Sector (SOL, FSLR, SPWR, LDK, STP, YGE, JASO, JKS)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:26:04 +0000

When the company reported fourth quarter earnings in March, it set expectations for the first quarter fairly low. Renesola posted an EPS loss of -$0.23, better than the expected loss of -$0.31, and revenue came in at $211.5 million, considerably above the consensus estimate of $177.6 million.

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

Filed under: Alternative Energy, China, Earnings, Green Biz, Pre-Market Activity Tagged: FSLR, JASO, JKS, LDK, SOL, SPWR, STP, YGE

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (ORCL, NOV, MMM, TEVA, JDSU, AMCX, MT, HNR, KSS, WIN, DDS, JKS, PGR, SOL, URRE, MNST, WFR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:04:02 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened significantly higher this morning as investors were heartened by yesterday’s nationalization of Spain’s Bankia. The Bank of England also keps rates and asset purchases stable. This morning’s report on new US claims for unemployment benefits was in-line with expectations (our coverage here). US natural gas inventories rose last week, but the increase was also in-line with expectations (our coverage here).The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.01% at 80.077. The GSCI commodity index is down fractionally at 648.28, with commodities mostly higher on the small change in the dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.3% at $97.08/barrel and Brent crude trades down -0.37% at $112.78/barrel. Gold settled up 0.1% today, at $1,595.50/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly XX points to XXX (XX%), the NASDAQ rose more than XX points (XXX%) to XXX, and the S&P 500 rose XX% or nearly X points to XXX.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut to ‘hold’ at ThinkEquity; National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) maintained ‘buy’ with a lowered target price of $90 at Argus; 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein; Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; and JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) is up 2.4% at $40.58; ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) is up 1.9% at $16.42; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down -1.6% at $5.71 after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down -4.6% at $48.52; and Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN) is down -10.3% at $10.10 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.42 earlier today.

On Friday we are scheduled to get earnings from Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and Uranium Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) is up 9.2% at $71.34 in a 52-week range of $32.35-$83.96. The energy drinks company posted strong results, but buyout rumors continue to lead the charge. More coverage here.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is down -24.3% at $2.46 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.41 earlier today. The solar component supplier posted bad results and a weak outlook. More coverage here.

We also took a detailed look today at short interest in a number of stocks — big names, volume leaders, and cult stocks.

Stay tuned for Friday. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMCX, DDS, HNR, JDSU, JKS, KSS, MMM, MNST, MT, NOV, ORCL, PGR, SOL, TEVA, URRE, WFR, WIN

LDK Solar Slashes Forecasts (LDK, HSOL, SOL)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:42:22 +0000

Solar panel maker LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) has revised its fourth quarter 2011 forecast and announced its guidance for the company’s 2012 fiscal year. The company will announce fourth quarter and full-year 2011 earnings on April 12th.

LDK lowered its fourth-quarter revenue forecast from a range of $440-$520 million, to $440-$450 million. Wafer shipment estimates were also cut, from 200-270 megawatts to 215-220 megawatts; module shipments were cut from a previous range of 180-270 megawatts to 250-260 megawatts. But that’s not all:

As a result of the rapidly declining market price for wafers and modules during the fourth quarter of 2011, LDK Solar expects to incur a write-down of inventories, realize impairment charges on contractual purchase agreements, and therefore, expects gross margin to be negative. In addition, some provisions for accounts receivable and fixed assets may also be required.

Negative gross margins, just like Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL) and Renesola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) reported last week.

The company also offered its outlook for 2012, forecasting revenue of $2.1-$2.7 billion, as well as estimates on product shipments. It did not say whether margins would turn positive next year.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Earnings Warning, Green Biz Tagged: HSOL, LDK, SOL

Renesola Puts Up Weak Numbers, Guides Sales Higher (SOL, HSOL)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:29:34 +0000

Chinese solar maker Renesola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) reported results this morning that missed earnings estimates, but managed to beat the estimate on revenues. Given the state of the solar panel market that’s not especially good news.

Renesola’s fourth quarter earnings loss per ADS totaled -$0.43, compared with an estimate for a loss of -$0.24. Revenue totaled $187.7 million, solidly above the consensus estimate of $146.7 million. But like Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL), which reported results yesterday, Renesola posted a negative gross margin.

Renesola’s gross margin for the quarter was -23.1%, worse than the -4% gross margin of the third quarter, but much better than Hanwha’s negative gross margin of -61.8%. The company shipped 340 megawatts of wafers and modules in the fourth quarter. For the full year, Renesola shipped 1,295 megawatts of wafers and modules.

For the first quarter, the company forecast shipments of 400-420 megawatts and revenue of $180-$190 million. Gross margins won’t rise under that scenario, unless Renesola dramatically reduces costs. It looks like another tough quarter ahead.

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Earnings, Green Biz Tagged: HSOL, SOL

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AZN, BLK, BRCM, CEG, ED, EBAY, ERIC, EXC, GOOG, NFLX, NOK, PSUN, SOL, SAP, SNY, TRN, UPS, VVUS, VMW)

Administrator — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:21:46 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Thursday morning.

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Reiterated Buy with $46 price target at Argus.
Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Reiterated Buy with $40 price target at Argus.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) downgraded to Hold at Benchmark; Raised targets at boutique firm Global Equities Research.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Underperform and cut estimates at Needham.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse (full summary).
Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) Raised to Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) named as the Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas.
Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE: TRN) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Started as Perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VWM) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.

If you enjoyed the morning Wall Street research notes, you can sign up to receive these directly in your inbox each morning by joining our free email list in the box below. We also include major movers, key stock calls, news on Warren Buffett and other gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AZN, BLK, BRCM, CEG, EBAY, ED, ERIC, EXC, GOOG, NFLX, NOK, PSUN, SAP, SNY, SOL, TRN, UPS, VMW, VVUS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AEG, AZO, ABX, FCN, PEP, RSH, RTN, SOL, WAG)

Administrator — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:44:18 +0000

Most U.S. research analysts do not make research calls the day after Thanksgiving but these are a few analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this morning. NYSE closes at 1:00 PM EST and the bond market closes around 1:15 PM EST today.

AEGON N.V. (NYSE: AEG) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli & Co.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) maintained Hold at Argus.
ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) maintained Neutral but cut target to $2 at Credit Suisse.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli & Co.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ABX, AEG, AZO, FCN, PEP, RSH, RTN, SOL, WAG

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (OVTI, SOL, TKLC, VRUS)

Mike Sauter — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:53:21 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Monday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI), Pharmasset, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRUS), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and TKLC (NASDAQ: TKLC).

OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) is down 17.5% before market open to $14.28, relative to a 52-week range of $12.60 – $37.04.

Pharmasset, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRUS) is up 8.5% before market open to $74.80, relative to a 52-week range of $19.62 – $88.52.

ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is down more than 5% premarket to $2.25, relative to a 52-week range of $1.46 – $14.13.

TKLC (NASDAQ: TKLC) is up 10.4% before market open to $10.93, relative to a 52-week range of $5.64 – $13.98.

Filed under: General Tagged: OVTI, SOL, TKLC, VRUS