ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Two weeks ago, I first noted an impressive “stealth” rally in some solar stocks like SOL, LDK, and JASO. At the time, First Solar (FSLR) was flat on the year, but it still made the list because this flat performance was out-performing the general market. I also noted that FSLR was due for a pullback … Read more
I wrote earlier about a “stealth” rally in solar stocks featuring ReneSola (SOL), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (SOLF), LDK Solar Co Ltd (LDK), Trina Solar Ltd (TSL), and First Solar (FSLR). In all the excitement, I managed to neglected (at least?) two other stocks publicly traded in the U.S. that are in the green … Read more
OK, by “stealth” I really mean I have not paid close enough attention to the rallies in several solar stocks. 2010 has been a year of true divergence for solar stocks. Some solar stocks have been in year-to-date rallies and others have been declining all year. The net result is an awful -25% year-to-date performance … Read more
As expected, First Solar’s earnings last week did not print any big surprises. Read a brief summary provided by earth2tech or flip through the earnings presentation for more details. The mixed results provided no clear trading catalyst, putting key technical levels in play that I was looking to trade. Support at the 200-day moving average … Read more
Evergreen Solar (ESLR) is a “penny stock” again. As the stock plunges to 8-year lows and toward all-time lows, it appears that the company will not survive this round of doubts in its viability. Note well that in the past, I have not had good things to say about ESLR: “ESLR remains the solar stock … Read more
First Solar (FSLR) has been stuck in a downtrend for two years (see chart below). The stock has traveled a volatile path through this trend, providing strong trading opportunities up or down. For example, a sharp two-month rally from the March, 2009 lows doubled the stock price. Insider buying earlier this year provided a convincing … Read more
MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) manufactures silicon wafer solutions for the semiconductor and solar industries. WFR fell 19% on Friday in response to earnings despite the company’s reassurances that it is on track to meet full-year guidance targets (click here for the transcript from Seeking Alpha): “In the first quarter, revenue was ahead of our internal … Read more
My earnings play on First Solar (FSLR) unfolded much better than expected today. The post-earnings pop took FSLR directly to my standing $149/150 price target that represents a fill of the earnings gap from October. See chart below: *Chart created using TeleChart: I believe the biggest catalyst for today’s 18% move was FSLR’s tremendous boost … Read more
First Solar (FSLR) has made a good recovery from the selling following February’s earnings report. Two weeks ago, FSLR closed as high as 9% above its price before its previous earnings and completed a 40% run-up from February’s bottom. The recent highs also marked the post-earnings highs from October’s poorly received earnings report. The stock … Read more
Insider buying at First Solar (FSLR) continues to mark a near-term bottom in the stock, but the recovery from February’s post-earnings losses has unfolded much more slowly than I expected. FSLR is up 18% since printing a bottom on February 25, the day before FSLR’s CEO and EVP of Marketing & Product Management purchased a … Read more