From Tech Trader Daily:
Barclays Capital analyst Vishal Shah this morning cut his ratings on both First Solar (FSLR) and SunPower (SPWRA) to Equal Weight from Overweight, citing continued concerns that tight credit markets may hurt solar sector demand in Q2 and Q3. “With over 1 GW of inventory in the channel, any demand recovery is unlikely to result in overall industry shipments growth until Q4,” he writes.
Shah now sees global photovoltaic shipments of 3.8 GW in 2009, down 25% from 2008, and below his previous forecast for a flat year. He expects the German market to be flat.
For SunPower, Shah slashed his price target to $18, from $35. His 2009 EPS estimate falls to $1.45 a share, from $2.30; for 2010, he sees profits of $2 a share....MORE
