Energy Conversion Beats Street, Citi Downgrades, Stock Yawns. (ENER, CSIQ; FSLR; SPWRA)

ENER is off 33 cents. Two From Tech Trader Daily:

Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) this morning posted revenue for its fiscal first quarter ended September 30 of $95.8 million, about in line with the Street consensus of $95.9 million. Profits of 29 cents a share beat the Street at 26 cents. EPS includes pre-production costs of 5 cents a share, restructuring costs of under a penny a share and a charge of 2 cents a share related to an investment in floating-rate notes issued by Lehman Brothers....MORE

And:

CSIQ, ENER, FSLR, SPWR: Deutsche Bank Downgrades

In the latest sign that that the Street has become concerned about the near-term outlook for the solar sector, Deutsche Bank analyst Steve O’Rourke this morning cut his ratings on Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Energy Conversion Devices (ENER), First Solar (FSLR) and SunPower (SPWRA) to Hold from Buy.

He cites some of the same issues other analysts have recently noted in turning more cautious on the group:

• Rising cost of capital. He calculates that a 1% increase in the cost of capital for a commercial scale project would require a 7% reduction in system price to maintain constant ROI....MORE