Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Why we Didn't get too Excited about the Sunpower/PG&E Deal (PCG; SPWR)

On August 15 you couldn't swing a dead cat (anyone know where that term comes from?) without seeing the Optisolar, Sunpower, PG&E news:

Giant solar project in California rivals coal plant
SunPower (SPWR) Lands Big PG&E Contract, Fueling Concerns About First Solar (FSLR)

SunPower (SPWR) shoots higher on PG&E deal

24/7 Wall St. Day Trading Alerts: SunPower (SPWR)
CNBC: SunPower CEO Calls PG&E Contract “Fantastic”


The stock opened on a nine dollar gap at $87.64 that morning and subsequently traded as high as $97.39 on the 22nd.
Here's what it's done the last five trading days (chart via Yahoo):
Chart for SunPower Corporation (SPWR)

I don't know if the stock will fill the gap all the way back to the closing price on the 14th, $78.57, but they often do.
Here are our headlines:

Aug. 15:
Solar Stocks Levitating, Led by SunPower (ENER; FSLR; JASO; LDK; SPWR; STP)

Aug. 18:
From the New York Times: This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
...Its panels pivot from east to west to follow the sun over the course of a day — not west to east.

Aug 22:
First Solar Cheaper Than SunPower, Says Citigroup (FSLR; SPWR)