Monday, July 27, 2009

Cramer Crazy About Chinese Solar, Stocks Yawn (STP; YGE)

There's trend following and then there's waiting for 300%-500% before making the call.
Yingli is at $15.34, up from $2.50 while Sunpower is at $20.60, up from a 52-week low of $5.09.
From CNBC:
Cramer hasn’t liked Chinese solar stocks. It’s just that simple. Caller after caller has all but begged for his blessing, but he’s waved them off with disdain. Until now.China’s Ministry of Finance this week announced that it would subsidize at least 50% of the capital cost for solar installations. Additional assistance will come in the form of low-interest-rate loans, which is crucial because even the Middle Kingdom couldn’t escape the credit crunch.

The news is so big that it now puts two stocks in play, Cramer said, Yingli Green Energy and Suntech Power Holdings. They are speculative picks that offer “a lot of upside, if you’re willing to take the risk.”

The catch here is that the subsidies won’t do much for 2009 earnings. Not to mention that solar panel prices are down, while inventories are up. So both companies could very well disappoint investors with earnings reports later in the year. And if oil falls to $50 a barrel, the entire sector could take a hit.

But that would be an opportunity, not a loss, Cramer said. He urged investors to use that chance to buy Yingli and Suntech and better prices....MORE

From Tickerspy:

Chinese Solar Stocks Mixed Despite Cramer Shout-Out

After a Friday rally, the Chinese solar sector is starting the week mixed.

On Friday we covered the the event-driven Chinese solar rally, which sent the sector higher by 6% on the day. The stocks heated up on earnings from domestic peer SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWRA - News) and improved guidance from LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK - News). The news was enough to turn a number of investors bullish on the sector, including rapid-fire stock picking guru Jim Cramer, who had been mostly bearish on solar stocks. Today the sector has pared its gains as the market slipped back into negative territory, discounting shares in the hot sector.

As a whole, the Chinese Solar Stocks Index is up fractionally today. It is now beating the S&P 500 by 13.2% over the last month.

Cramer, who formerly shunned all solar stocks but domestic giant First Solar...MORE