Posts for Ticker ‘SOLF’

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (ABC, ASML, CAH, CVS, ESRX, INTC, MRVL, MHS, SOLF, TXN)

These are this Thursday’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls:

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC) Started as Buy at UBS.
ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) Cut to Neutral at B of A Merrill Lynch.
Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) Started as Buy at UBS.
CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) Started as Buy at UBS.
Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) Started as Buy at UBS.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) Cut to Neutral at B of A Merrill Lynch.
Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL) Cut to Neutral at B of A Merrill Lynch.
MedcoHealth Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) Started as Buy at UBS.
Solarfun (NASDAQ: SOLF) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Neutral at B of A Merrill Lynch.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on key analyst calls, top day trader alerts, mergers and acquisitions, Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 19, 2009 – 8:12 am in Analyst Calls, Healthcare, Pre-Market Activity, Technology Companies, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , , ,

Solarfun Looks ‘Good Enough’ (SOLF)

Solar Panel PicSolarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLF), a photovoltaic cell and PV module maker in China, is trading higher after the company gave guidance.  The outlook for the third quarter of 2009 is for revenues to be RMB918 to RMB984 million, which translates to roughly $134.46 million to $144.12 million after converting to US Dollars. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters is $163.13 million.  While this guidance looks soft, it appears to be good enough or close enough when you look at the other forecasts it gave.
Read More »

Posted on: September 17, 2009 – 9:48 am in ADR, Alternative Energy, China, Green Biz,

Top Analyst Upgrades (ADI, IRE, COST, NOK, PG, PLD, RDS-A, SOLF, TSN)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Wednesday morning:

Analog Devices (ADI) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank; Raised to Neutral at Baird.
Bank of Ireland (IRE) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Costco (COST) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Nokia (NOK) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Procter & Gamble (PG) Raised to Outperform at Barclays.
ProLogis (PLD) Raisede to Outperform at FBR.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A) Raised to Neutral at Jefferies.
Solarfun (SOLF) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Tyson Foods (TSN) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.

JON C. OGG

MAY 20, 2009

Posted on: May 20, 2009 – 6:39 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Solarfun, When Less-Bad Seems Good (SOLF)

Solar Panel PicSolarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLF) posted some very mixed results.  On the surface it looks disappointing across the board, but after parsing through the data this seems as though there are no nasty surprises.  All figures have been converted to US dollars rather than Chinese “RMB” for comparison purposes, but the company’s CEO is also resigning.  It may just be based on the hope of a bottom, but shares are trading higher.
Read More »

Posted on: May 19, 2009 – 8:40 am in Alternative Energy, Earnings, Green Biz,

Some Good News for Solar Industry? (SPIR, FSLR, SOLF)

solar-panel-picSpire Corporation (NASDAQ:SPIR) is a small-cap supplier of turnkey solar factories and capital equipment. Its products are used to manufacture PV modules and cells. The company reported its fourth quarter and full-year results after the market closed yesterday, and the news was mostly positive. After the beating that other solar makers such as First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:SOLF) have taken, any good news in this sector is welcome.
Read More »

Posted on: April 1, 2009 – 8:32 am in Alternative Energy, Earnings, Green Biz, , ,

Solarfun Renegotiates Hoku Payments (SOLF, HOKU)

solar-panel-pic26A US-based subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOKU) and a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:SOLF) have renegotiated a polysilicon supply contract between Hoku and Solarfun. The renegotiation affects only the timing of payments and deliveries, not the price, volume or other material items in the agreement.
Read More »

Posted on: March 31, 2009 – 10:47 am in Alternative Energy, Green Biz, ,

Is China’s Solar Industry Following the Ethanol Path? (YGE, SOLF)

solar-panel-pic24The government of China’s announcement that it would subsidize solar projects that exceed 50 kilowatts gave China’s solar industry a big boost. Still,the more that government piles into the solar sector, the more the sector begins to look like the ethanol industry in the US.  Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE:YGE) this morning announced that one of its affiliates has struck a deal with a branch of the Bank of China that could lead to a total credit line of about $880 million (6 billion RMB).

Read More »

Posted on: March 27, 2009 – 8:03 am in Alternative Energy, China, Green Biz, ,

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BCE, GOOG, IACI, SYMC, VCLK, CSL, CEO, JNS, MFE, SOLF)

These are the top pre-market upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street this Thursday morning:

BCE (BCE) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Google (GOOG) Raised to Buy at Canaccord.
IAC/Interactive (IACI) Raised to Buy at Canaccord.
Symantec (SYMC) Started as Buy at Auriga.
ValueClick (VCLK) Raised to Buy from Sell at Canaccord.
Carlisle Companies (CSL) Cut to Underweight at KeyBanc.
CNOOC (CEO) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Janus (JNS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
McAfee (MFE) STarted as Sell at Auriga.
SolarFun (SOLF) Cut to Sell at Collins Stewart, but was also raised to Hold from Sell at Canaccord.

Jon C. Ogg
March 26, 2009

Posted on: March 26, 2009 – 7:26 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Another Bad Day in the Sun (SOLF)

solar-panel-pic18Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:SOLF) reported fourth quarter 2008 and full-year results this morning. For the quarter, Solarfun posted a net loss of -$1.14/ADS. Revenue was $164.6 million, down nearly 12% sequentially. Analysts had been expecting a loss of -$0.59/share.
Read More »

Posted on: March 25, 2009 – 9:24 am in Alternative Energy, Earnings, Green Biz,

Barclays Initiates Solar Power Stocks (YGE, SOLF, CSUN, LDK, SOL, TSL)

solar_panel_picBarclays Capital initiated coverage of several stocks in the solar energy sector this morning.  Most of these ratings are cautious, although there was at least one positive call in the solar sector.

Yingli Green Energy (YGE) was rated overweight.  Solarfun Power (SOLF) was started as underweight.  China Sunergy (CSUN), LDK Solar (LDK), ReneSola (SOL), and Trina Solar (TSL) were all started as equal weight.

Jon C. Ogg

February 9, 2009

Posted on: February 9, 2009 – 8:42 am in Alternative Energy, Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

LDK & More Solar Peer Pressure (LDK, FSLR, CSIQ, JASO, ESLR, SOLF)

Solar_panel_picLDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) is living up to the doubts that many investors had in this stock.  When times were good for solar and alternative energy players, many questioned the Chinese company.  Now times are tough, and the news looks tough inside the doors at LDK.  Unfortunately, this is something solar investors have had to brace for now that the economy is softening and now that low energy prices are making many alternative energy projects not economically viable.

Read More »

Posted on: January 6, 2009 – 8:39 am in Alternative Energy, Earnings Warning, Trading Alert, , , , , ,

24/7 Wall St. Day Trade Alerts (XNPT)(SOLF)(TSRA)

Cammonopoly_wideweb__430x3250Xenoport (XNPT) is being beaten up on bad clinical trial date. Details.

SolarFun (SOLF) is getting hurt on sub-par earnings. Details.

Tessara (TSRA) got some bad news from the ITC. Details.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: December 2, 2008 – 9:44 am in Research, , ,

Hoku Scores Another Substantial Supply Pact (HOKU)

Hoku_logoHoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOKU) has just announced that its Hoku Materials subsidiary and Tianwei New Energy (Chengdu) Wafer Co., Ltd. have signed a definitive contract for Hoku’s sale and delivery of polysilicon to Tianwei over a ten-year period beginning in early 2010.  The company said that $284 million may be payable to Hoku during the ten-year period of this contract, subject to product deliveries and other conditions.

Read More »

Posted on: August 5, 2008 – 4:08 pm in Alternative Energy, , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ACE, AUTH, CMCSA, IFX, LLTC, MCHP, SOLF, HOT)

These are not all of the upgrades and positive analyst calls affecting shares, but these are some of the calls impacting shares pre-market this Thursday morning:

  • Ace Limited (NYSE: ACE) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Infineon Tech (NYSE: IFX) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
  • Linear Tech (NASDAQ: LLTC) Raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Microchip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) Raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Solarfun Power (NASDAQ: SOLF) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
  • Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.

Jon C. Ogg
July 17, 2008

Posted on: July 17, 2008 – 6:51 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Can Solarfun Live Up to Expectations? (SOLF)

Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLF) has been on an absolute tear over the last week.  The Chinese PV cell manufacturer will release earnings before the open this Wednesday (May 21). 

On May 1, this was at $13.07 and on May 12 it was at $14.94.  Shareshave risen every day since then and shares now sit up some 70% in justa week.  The stock is also one that is becoming harder and harder to short sell as there is a huge short interest in the stock.

This one is also very thinly covered on Wall Street.  Estimates are $1.12 EPS and $961.8 million, but we’d caution that there are only 3 estimates and those are very wide apart from each other.  Even if this one beats, it might not please everyone.

As of the end of April, this one had 15.28 million shares listed as being in the short interest, down from 16.37 million in mid-April.  After a hug move like this and after all the ongoing doubt has been cast in many of the solar stocks, you can probably bet that the short interest is higher.  A short seller we listen to has said that Solarfun is getting harder to borrow in any size.

After today’s $25.18 close, it is still well under highs asits 52-week trading range is $8.22 to $40.19.

Jon C. Ogg
May 19, 2008

Jon Ogg produces and edits the "10 Stocks Under $10" newsletter and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 19, 2008 – 4:42 pm in Alternative Energy, Earnings,

Alternative Energy Analyst Downgrades (JASO, SOLF, TSL, YGE, STP)

Banc of America has made several downgrades this morning in the solar power sector stocks.  These might not be all of the downgrades and calls but these were the key ones we saw:

  • JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) cut to Neutral from Buy;
  • Solarfun Power (NASDAQ: SOLF) cut to Sell from Neutral;
  • Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) cut to Sell from Buy;
  • Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) cut to Neutral from Buy.

We did see two initiations out of Citigroup this morning. Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) was started as Hold and Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) was started as Buy.

Jon C. Ogg
February 27, 2008

Posted on: February 27, 2008 – 8:03 am in Alternative Energy, Analyst Calls, , , , ,

Suntech Power Earnings Miss Hits Solar Names Early (STP, FSLR, SOLF, LDK)

Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) missed earnings this morning and shares are paying the price.  The solar player posted $0.34 EPS, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.36 EPS.  Its revenues rose 82.5% year over year to $397.5 million, but the consensus estimate there was $419.6 million.

To top it off, Suntech issued lower guidance for Q1-2008: it sees revenues of $370 to $380 million versus $455.04 million consensus; for Fiscal 2008 it sees revenues if $1.9 to $2.1 Billion versus $2.24 Billion consensus.

Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) is trading down a monster 17% at $37.99 in early pre-market trading; its 52-week trading range is $31.41 to $90.00 and its market cap was almost $7 Billion before this drop.  Solar stocks tend to trade in tandem with each other, and this is taking at least somewhat of a toll on many other names in the sector:

  • First Solar (NASSDAQ: FSLR) down 2.6% pre-market at $206.40;
  • Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLF) down 5% at $15.45;
  • LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) -4.8% at $33.00 on very thin volume.

For whatever it is worth, there have been other instances where these stocks get hit on a piece of news from another player, only to recover.  But an earnings miss with the multiples that these stocks carry is just not very well received regardless of much these have come off of their highs.

Jon C. Ogg
February 20, 2008

Posted on: February 20, 2008 – 8:03 am in Alternative Energy, Earnings, Earnings Warning, , , , , ,

The Business Day In Global Warming (MDR, GOOG, FTEK, GFET, ACPW, HPQ, YGE, GLW, HOKU, SOLF, HMC, CPST)

McDermott (NYSE:MDR) realigned its its B&W into 4 units, mostly aspects of nuclear but it also is focusing on cleaner coal and carbon capture.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is going greener than green with a new business venture… in alternative energy generation and a search to eliminate carbon from coal.  As Google’s initiative is aimed at eliminating and lowering coal use emissions, one key player there (that was not mentioned at all) is Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ:FTEK) and it has been beaten up lately.

Gulf Ethanol (OTC-BB:GFET), which you have likely seen advertised all over the internet, licensed a ‘breakthrough technology" in an agreement to acquire the exclusive rights to a cellulose feed-stock processing technology and will have the exclusive right to deliver this new technology solution to the ethanol industry.

Active Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACPW) announced its CleanSource UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system was awarded the 2007 Product Design Innovation of the Year by the Institution of Engineering and Technology….noise rather than financial news.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) announced relationships with two renewable energy providers, SunPower Corp. in the U.S. and Airtricity in Ireland, as part of the company’s strategy to reduce its global carbon footprint. HP will install its first-ever, large-scale solar power installation at its San Diego facility. And now it will ensure that nearly 90 percent of HP’s energy use in Ireland is renewable, exceeding the company’s 2007 target for carbon emission reductions.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE:YGE) announced it has signed three polysilicon contracts with a leading polysilicon manufacturer to produce over 40 MW of PV modules over the life of the contracts.

Last night, Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) completed expansion of its clean-air products facility, Corning Shanghai Company, Ltd. in Shanghai, China. The additional capacity will help Corning to increase its manufacturing capabilities to meet anticipated local and global demand for advanced ceramic substrates for light-duty vehicle applications.

Yesterday, Hoku Scientific (NASDAQ:HOKU) rose sharply by 38% after signing a Phase II $306 million polysilicon supply pact spread over 8-years with Solarfun (NASDAQ:SOLF).

It’s been a while, but Honda Motors (NYSE:HMC) has gotten a significant amount of attention after the announced launch of the Fuel Cell car, its FCX Clarity.  We gave a review of how investors should view this with an explanation as to why.  It’s definitely a different take than you’d expect and we show the others in the sector too. 

In another note, we recently featured Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ:CPST) on our "10 Stocks Under $10" subscriber letter.  We feel the aggressive target where Lazard Capital Markets called for it to essentially double may end up being quite conservative.

To set your RSS feeds to out "Business Day in Global Warming" set your feed to the following URL:
http://www.247wallst.com/alternative_energy/index.html

Jon C. Ogg
November 27, 2008

24/7 Wall St. also has its open email distribution list where we cover IPO’s, merger arbitrage, small cap stocks, reorganizations, upcoming events, and other special situations.

As a reminder, whether you prefer the term "Global Warming" or "Climate Change" is not the issue as far as 24/7 Wall St. covers it. Green business has become big business, and this affects many public companies today.

Posted on: November 27, 2007 – 6:13 pm in Alternative Energy, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hoku Shares Surge On Another Supply Award (HOKU, SOLF)

Shares of Hoku Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ:HOKU) are surging pre-market. The provider of clean energy products and technologies including polysilicon for the solar industry has announced that Solarfun Power Holdings’ (NASDAQ:SOLF) Hong Kong unit signed a definitive contract for Hoku’s sale and delivery of polysilicon to Solarfun over an eight-year period beginning in mid-2009.

The deal is subject to deliveries and conditions, but it is valued up to approximately $306 million payable to Hoku during the eight-year period.  The deal is set to start in the second half of 2009 at set prices that will decline throughout the eight-year period.  Here are the additional terms in the press release:

  • Initial deposit of $10 million to Hoku on or before December 28, 2007, and requires that Solarfun make additional prepayments for products in the aggregate amount of $45, which are to be paid to Hoku in three installments: the first payment is due on September 30, 2008, and the final payment is due on March 31, 2010.
  • The $45 million prepayment amount is to be placed in an escrow account by Solarfun, or secured by a letter of credit from Solarfun’s bank, on or before January 10, 2008.
  • Under the agreement, Hoku will grant to Solarfun a security interest in its polysilicon assets to secure Hoku’s obligation to repay $55 million to Solarfun as a credit against product shipments over time.

This is what Hoku is calling "the first order accepted for Phase II of its polysilicon business."  Hoku’s previously announced customers include SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., Global Expertise Wafer Division Ltd., and now Solarfun.  Collectively, these buyers have agreed to purchase approximately $1.5 billion in polysilicon over a seven to ten year period from the completion of its factory build-out.

Hoku shares are up some 40% pre-market at $8.30, and the the 52-week trading range is $2.52 to $14.55.  Before today’s 40% gain pre-market its market cap was roughly $100 million.

Previously, we gave a "Both Sides of the Coin" review of Hoku Scientific as a highly speculative stock as a future materials supplier to the solar sector.

Jon C. Ogg
November 26, 2007

Posted on: November 26, 2007 – 9:25 am in Alternative Energy, ,

The Business Day In Global Warming (EEE, AECOX, GE, VOLV, SOLF, FTEK, AW, PCG, PGN)

Evergreen Energy Inc (NYSE:EEE) has signed an “Agreement to Proceed” with specifications and design work that lead to the construction of a K-Fuel® lignite coal refinery in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The agreement was signed yesterday with a subsidiary of China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), one of the five state-owned power generation companies in China.

Our friends at TheStreet.com have a great article "A Green Fund for Global-Warming Skeptics."  As we have noted ourselves over and over, whether you believe in "global warming" or "climate change" doesn’t really matter.  Green business is becoming big business.   Allianz RCM Global EcoTrends Fund (AECOX) is a $131 million fund has appeared in the top 10% of stock funds for several months this year.

Thursday, September 20, 2007
Plutonic Power Corporation (TSX:PCC) and GE Energy Financial Services, part of GE (NYSE:GE), executed a fixed-price construction contract with Peter Kiewit Sons Co. for the construction of the 196 MW Toba Montrose run-of-river hydroelectric project.  The signing of the approximately $500 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract allows Kiewit to move ahead to the next stages after the initial rejuvenation and construction of forestry roads and bridges to the powerhouse site that had begun in July 2007.

With higher than $80.00 per barrel oil, alternative energy is all forms is highly important.  Many of these initiatives started back in the 1990’s and 2000 when oil was cheaper than water.  T. Boone Pickens is still bullish on oil prices and he’s bullish on his natural gas for autos initiative.  Earlier this week Goldman Sachs unveiled their "Super-Spike" in oil prices with the high-end of that band moving from $100 to $135 per barrel and up to $4.50 per gallon of gas at the pump.

Read More »

Posted on: September 21, 2007 – 10:27 am in Alternative Energy, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,