Best Performing Stocks YTD

With five trading days left to 2007, below we highlight the best performing stocks in the Russell 3,000 year to date. As shown, First Solar (FSLR) is up 729% this year, which is nearly twice as much as the second best performer, ONXX (429%). ONXX is followed by CF, MOS, TBSI, GMO, SPWR and RCCC.

For those that subscribe to the window dressing theory, these names could do well through the 31st.

Comments

[tom udelson]

thanks for the homework would like to see list turned upside-down to see tax loss bounce candidates for exploitation after jan i. do you have info for mid and large cap ? have a great holiday and a well deserved break tom udelson

[stockguru]

someone on yahoo by name of gungbao2003

It has been claimed and I quote from Bill Alpert's Barrons' Article:
"What dismayed investors were September-quarter gross margins of 30.8% -- down from 35% in June and 39% in 2006. Piper Jaffray's Jesse Pichel noted that LDK gross margins were still an inexplicable 10 percentage points above those of peer ReneSola (SOLA). LDK inventory is turning just 2.2 times a year. Pichel downgraded the shares to a Sell with a price target of 34.50."

In summary the answers to why RENESOLA's margins are 10% points lower than LDK are found in RENESOLA's press releases and financial statements. The difference is in the technology. Majority of RENESOLA's solar wafers produced up to 3rd Qtr of 2007 are monocrystalline wafers while LDK's are MULTIcrystalline wafers. Why would this difference account for LDK's margin's being better?

First, RENESOLA in their IPO papers stated and I quote from
buchanan.uk.com/cgi-bin/viewa ...
"In early 2007, the Directors intend to commence the installation of 15 multicrystalline furnaces, which each have a capacity in excess of 2,400 kg per month. Multicrystalline furnaces are more energy efficient than monocrystalline furnaces and require a lower grade of polysilicon which would improve the yield from ReneSola's raw materials."

What happened since then? Did RENESOLA achieve full capacity production yet on cheaper and more efficient Multi-crystalline solar wafer production? The answers are in RENESOLA's 3rd quarter ER. renesola.com/investorRe/conte ...

"ReneSola commenced the installation of multicrystalline furnaces in September following the delivery of the coated crucibles. 15 multicrystalline furnaces, with a combined manufacturing capacity of 75 MW, have now been delivered and installed and are in initial production. The remaining 17 furnaces will be delivered and installed, as planned, by the end of 2007."

If you use your brains, then you would see that majority of RENESOLA's products were still made using the less efficient mono-crystalline methods and they are just going on-stream with Multi-crystalline production in 4th Qtr of 2007. RENESOLA is just playing catch up to LDK and are aware their margins are lower hence their decision to switch to the more efficient production of multicrystalline wafers.