Solar’s Debt-to-Equity Ratios Remain OK but Shorts Ramp as Disappointing Earnings Mount

(This is an excerpt from an EXTENSIVE article I published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) Just when you thought solar earnings could not disappoint the market any further…{snip}…LDK provided a pre-announcement that contained the news that the company canceled a debt offering because interest rates are higher than expected. This … Read more

After Two Years and 200 Companies, Total Group Picks SunPower – A Watershed Solar Deal With More Upside

(This is an excerpt from an article I published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece) Perhaps it is not a good idea to use the term “watershed” twice in a year when referring to solar stocks, but it seems to me that Total Group’s acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in … Read more

No Watershed Quite Yet for Solar Stocks

Last week, I suggested that the nuclear power crisis in Japan could usher in a watershed moment for solar energy and its constituent stocks. For all of two days, most solar stocks soared. For example, First Solar (FSLR) gained 14%. However, March 15th marked a sort of peak in the market’s concern over Japan’s nuclear … Read more

SunPower Breaks Out Ahead of Earnings

Despite my general caution on the stock market at current levels (it just flipped to overbought status on Monday), I continue to look out for bullish moves on individual stocks. This time, I found a fresh breakout candidate in the solar sector. On Monday, SunPower Corporation (SPWRA or SPWRB) finally broke free of a nine-month … Read more

Solar Swings: Sept Soaring to Oct Peaking to Nov Selling

After the stock market’s sharp rally off the March, 2009 lows, most solar stocks stopped appreciating by that summer. For the remainder of the year, they experienced wild swings up and down in price in quick succession. In the summer of 2010, it appeared prospects had finally turned around for the better for solar stocks … Read more

Fishing for Daylight in First Solar

Bottom-fishing is always a risky business, but sometimes it is worth a try. This is the case with First Solar (FSLR) which has printed several profitable bottoms in the past two years. After dropping for 11 consecutive days, FSLR finally managed to close with a gain on Tuesday. The 3% increase came on volume almost … Read more

SunPower Ends Year In A Holding Pattern

The stock for SunPower Corporation (SWPRa) has remained in a holding pattern, directly under resistance from the 50-day moving average (DMA), in the two weeks since SPWRa provided an empty update on its on-going audit committee investigation. I took this opportunity to dump my current position at break-even. I feel fortunate to do so after … Read more

SunPower Successfully Retests March Lows

Over the last four days, Sunpower Corporation (SWPRa) completed a successful retest of the March lows (intra-day low of $19.70, closing low of $20.91). The next price target is around $26.25 with a close of the gap created by the news of accounting irregularities at its Philippine manufacturing operations. This price level will likely meet … Read more

SunPower Clings to March Lows

It has been a very long time since a stock blindsided me, but the sting is no less powerful! Yesterday, SunPower (SPWR) dropped the AA-bomb – audit and accounting, announcing that: “…based upon an internal review of its Philippine manufacturing operations, the company believes there may have been unsubstantiated accounting entries made in the first … Read more

Adjusting Portfolio to Latest Fire in Solar Stocks

September has been very kind to solar stocks as most have awakened from summer doldrums and slumber to rise with the rest of the soaring stock market. This new raging fire has motivated me to get more active in trading solar stocks as well, even as it has sometimes been very difficult to keep up … Read more