How to Play First Solar Until A Savior Arrives

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 7, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) When Energy Conversion Devices (ENERQ.PK) filed for bankruptcy in mid-February, I wrote “The Solar Fun Is Done For Now.” I should have also said that the “horror show has just begun” … Read more

Earnings Warning By GrafTech International Highlights Weak Solar And Weakening Europe

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 27, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) GrafTech International Ltd (GTI) is a small company with a $1.86B market cap whose fourth quarter and full year 2011 earnings report shed additional light on the weak solar sector and … Read more

Chart Review: First Solar and SunPower Confirm Bearish Patterns

It only took a day or two for First Solar (FSLR) and SunPower Corporation (SPWR) to confirm the bearish pattern I pointed out after the recent post-earnings celebration for SPWR. The charts below show rapid follow-through from the big fades that followed huge up days in each stock. Source: FreeStockCharts.com Note well that the bears … Read more

Chart Review: SunPower Breaks Out and First Solar Retakes Uptrend, But…

A funny thing happened after I declared the “fun is done” in solar stocks: Suntech Power Holdings (STP) pre-announced higher than expected revenues and financial results for its fourth quarter, and SunPower Corporation (SPWR) reported earnings that gave solar traders and investors fresh hope. At one point, SPWR broke out from a nice consolidation above … Read more

The Solar Fun is Done For Now

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 15, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I hope my fellow solar enthusiasts enjoyed 2012’s solar run while it lasted. Solar stocks went on a tear to start the new year, but now the fun is done. Reality … Read more

Chart Review: Stock Recoveries, Critical Resistance, and Emerging Breakouts

The current extended overbought period has produced many amazing chart patterns. In this chart review, I am highlighting some charts I find particularly interesting and compelling. There are impressive recoveries, stocks dancing with critical resistance, and emerging breakouts. Some charts are quite telling in that they completely contradict the presumed economic disaster from an imminent … Read more

GT Advanced Systems A Likely Loser in Looming Solar Trade War

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 15, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) On December 2nd, the U.S. and China got another step closer to a trade war over solar energy. In “China Rejects U.S. Panel Ruling That Solar Imports Harm Industry“, Bloomberg reported … Read more

Using Debt-to-Equity Ratios to Identify Potential Survivors of the Solar Downturn

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 28, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) In “5 stocks for the solar surge“, Jim Jubiak at MSN Money lays out some interesting groundrules for taking advantage of the downturn in solar to buy companies on the cheap. … Read more