Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Sector Snap: Solar-Power Stocks Plunge (AKNS; AMAT; FSLR; JASO; LDK; STP)

From the AP:

Investors Dump Solar Stocks Despite Upgrades As Oil Drops and Market Turmoil Continues

Shares of solar-power companies dived Wednesday despite a few analyst upgrades, as oil prices fell further and investors dumped risky stocks amid continued market turmoil.

Though oil prices and solar power are not directly linked, cheaper oil sometimes leads to a sell-off of alternative energy stocks. Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.61 to $87.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 72 cents to settle at $89.85 a barrel on Tuesday.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. shares posted a drop of $3.89, or 15.1 percent, to $21.94. Suntech Power Holdings Co. fell $7.39, or 13.1 percent, to $48.96; First Solar Inc. declined $28.30, or 15.5 percent, to $154.49; and Hoku Scientific Inc. fell $1.10, or 12 percent, to $8.10.

Despite sharp declines across the sector, several analysts cited buying opportunities at cheaper prices. Banc of America Securities analyst Eric Brown, who is cautious on renewable stocks, noted that solar stocks are down an average 34 percent so far this year as a result of broader fears of an economic recession and concerns about industry fundamentals.

"However, by no means do we believe that solar stocks are dead," he wrote....MORE

And from Yahoo Finance:

AKNS
AMAT
ASTI
BTUI
CSIQ
CSUN
DSTI
ENER
ESLR
FCEL
FSLR
HOKU
JASO
LDK
SOLF
SPWR
STP
TSL
WFR
YGE
6.57
17.31
13.28
10.79
16.57
8.49
3.23
21.33
10.51
7.55
152.75
8.20
54.80
33.08
16.67
68.34
46.68
30.32
62.00
21.50
-0.48
-0.68
-1.40
-0.24
-2.02
-0.56
-0.41
-0.97
-0.74
-0.33
-30.04
-1.00
-5.62
-0.83
-2.33
-9.58
-9.67
-4.01
-5.00
-4.33
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