ESLR - News and Analysis from Seeking Alpha 'ESLR' Tag RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/eslr Solar Industry Lobbies Senate for Manufacturing Tax Credit, Cash Grant http://seekingalpha.com/article/173029-solar-industry-lobbies-senate-for-manufacturing-tax-credit-cash-grant?source=feed 173029 By Ucilia Wang

Several U.S. Senators have introduced a bill to provide a tax incentive to solar energy equipment manufacturers in a bid to create new jobs.

]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:57:19 -0500 Greentech Media Greentech Media submits:

By Ucilia Wang

Several U.S. Senators have introduced a bill to provide a tax incentive to solar energy equipment manufacturers in a bid to create new jobs.


Complete Story »]]> ESLR KWT SPWRA SRWRF.PK STP TAN Greentech Media Solar Stocks: Will ARRA Funding Shake Up the Sector? http://seekingalpha.com/article/172330-solar-stocks-will-arra-funding-shake-up-the-sector?source=feed 172330
New tax credits, grants and loan guarantees through the American Recovery and Investment Act (ARRA), administered through the Department of Energy, can only be used for solar projects in the United States. With the global revenue mix of public solar module manufacturers, will it even have much of an effect on valuations, especially short-term?
Recently, a NY private equity firm contacted me with this very question for three solar stocks in their portfolio: Evergreen Solar (ESLR), Trina Solar (TSL) and Solarfun (SOLF).
The US market for solar modules remains the smallest, but most likely fastest growing, country market out of total global revenue for ESLR, TSL and SOLF. US revenue as a percentage of global revenue is highest as of Q2 2009 for ESLR at 24%, and still relatively small for both SOLF and TSL at 1 – 2%.
In this context, the short-term impact of new US Government financing mechanisms may accelerate new downstream solar projects for which the portfolio companies are suppliers. Fellow Seeking Alpha contributor Kelvin Schulle, pointed this out here.
However, in a broader context, as mentioned the US represents a small percentage of overall revenue. Interestingly, the portfolio companies are using diverse financing techniques for projects that will supply their non-US markets, including the US Ex-Im Bank and Chinese government. And some non-US banks are being used for customer financing in the US.
As mentioned in this summer’s Renewable Energy Finance Forum (REFF) – Wall Street, renewable energy deal cap structures are evolving. A typical deal may be 55% debt, 30% US Gov. grant and 15% equity. Overall, US dealflow of solar projects should ramp in 2010.
Specifically, there were some interesting comments surrounding the growth of US markets and the effects of ARRA financing during the second quarter conference calls. The transcripts on Seeking Alpha are linked below.
Of the three portfolio companies, Evergreen Solar has the largest US presence, growing sequentially from Q1 to Q2 from 20% to 24%. The call suggested pent-up demand on commercial and utility scale projects that would benefit from guidance on the DOE Loan Guarantee and Treasury Grant Programs issued in August.
Trina Solar currently has a small US presence but sees the US as an “emerging” and its fastest growing global market accounting for as much as 15 – 20% of global revenue in Q4. TSL noted an increase in US module orders financed by state and city solar programs in California and Florida.
For Solarfun, as of Q2, percentage of global revenue in the US is small, maybe around 1%, but expected to ramp in Q3 and Q4. A recent sales office opened in California and alliances formed with US strategic partners.
Stay tuned. The Novogradac Financing Renewable Energy Conference will meet in Washington, D.C. November 11th and 12th and will convene solar developers and financiers and should provide some valuable insights.
Disclosure: Author owns share in the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index ETF (TAN), which has holdings in ESLR, TSL and SOLF.
]]> Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:39:26 -0500 Chris Cather Chris Cather submits:

New tax credits, grants and loan guarantees through the American Recovery and Investment Act (ARRA), administered through the Department of Energy, can only be used for solar projects in the United States. With the global revenue mix of public solar module manufacturers, will it even have much of an effect on valuations, especially short-term?
Recently, a NY private equity firm contacted me with this very question for three solar stocks in their portfolio: Evergreen Solar (ESLR), Trina Solar (TSL) and Solarfun (SOLF).
The US market for solar modules remains the smallest, but most likely fastest growing, country market out of total global revenue for ESLR, TSL and SOLF. US revenue as a percentage of global revenue is highest as of Q2 2009 for ESLR at 24%, and still relatively small for both SOLF and TSL at 1 – 2%.
In this context, the short-term impact of new US Government financing mechanisms may accelerate new downstream solar projects for which the portfolio companies are suppliers. Fellow Seeking Alpha contributor Kelvin Schulle, pointed this out here.
However, in a broader context, as mentioned the US represents a small percentage of overall revenue. Interestingly, the portfolio companies are using diverse financing techniques for projects that will supply their non-US markets, including the US Ex-Im Bank and Chinese government. And some non-US banks are being used for customer financing in the US.
As mentioned in this summer’s Renewable Energy Finance Forum (REFF) – Wall Street, renewable energy deal cap structures are evolving. A typical deal may be 55% debt, 30% US Gov. grant and 15% equity. Overall, US dealflow of solar projects should ramp in 2010.
Specifically, there were some interesting comments surrounding the growth of US markets and the effects of ARRA financing during the second quarter conference calls. The transcripts on Seeking Alpha are linked below.
Of the three portfolio companies, Evergreen Solar has the largest US presence, growing sequentially from Q1 to Q2 from 20% to 24%. The call suggested pent-up demand on commercial and utility scale projects that would benefit from guidance on the DOE Loan Guarantee and Treasury Grant Programs issued in August.
Trina Solar currently has a small US presence but sees the US as an “emerging” and its fastest growing global market accounting for as much as 15 – 20% of global revenue in Q4. TSL noted an increase in US module orders financed by state and city solar programs in California and Florida.
For Solarfun, as of Q2, percentage of global revenue in the US is small, maybe around 1%, but expected to ramp in Q3 and Q4. A recent sales office opened in California and alliances formed with US strategic partners.
Stay tuned. The Novogradac Financing Renewable Energy Conference will meet in Washington, D.C. November 11th and 12th and will convene solar developers and financiers and should provide some valuable insights.
Disclosure: Author owns share in the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index ETF (TAN), which has holdings in ESLR, TSL and SOLF.

Complete Story »]]> ESLR SOLF TAN TSL Chris Cather Oversupply Issues Plague Solar Manufacturers http://seekingalpha.com/article/171907-oversupply-issues-plague-solar-manufacturers?source=feed 171907

By Ucilia Wang

General Electric (GE) plans to close its only U.S. solar panel factory because production costs have exceeded sale prices.

]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:10:23 -0500 Greentech Media Greentech Media submits:

By Ucilia Wang

General Electric (GE) plans to close its only U.S. solar panel factory because production costs have exceeded sale prices.


Complete Story »]]> BP ESLR GE Greentech Media Evergreen Solar Plans to Move U.S. Panel Production to China http://seekingalpha.com/article/171748-evergreen-solar-plans-to-move-u-s-panel-production-to-china?source=feed 171748 By Ucilia Wang

Evergreen Solar (ESLR) plans to stop producing panels at its factory in Devens, Mass., and shift that work to China, the company said this week.

]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:12:55 -0500 Greentech Media Greentech Media submits:

By Ucilia Wang

Evergreen Solar (ESLR) plans to stop producing panels at its factory in Devens, Mass., and shift that work to China, the company said this week.


Complete Story »]]> ESLR Greentech Media Evergreen Solar Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript http://seekingalpha.com/article/171582-evergreen-solar-q3-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed 171582 Evergreen Solar, Inc. (ESLR)

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

November 5, 2009 8:30 AM ET

]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:25:18 -0500 Evergreen Solar, Inc. (ESLR)

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

November 5, 2009 8:30 AM ET


Complete Story »]]> ESLR Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News http://seekingalpha.com/article/171447-wall-street-breakfast-must-know-news?source=feed 171447

  • Fed stays put. The Fed Open Market Committee left target rates unchanged at 0-0.25% by unanimous vote, saying conditions are still "likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period." The Fed acknowledged an ongoing pickup in economic activity, but warned things are likely to remain weak for a while. It noted "substantial" resource slack will continue to dampen cost pressures, and it continues to believe "inflation will remain subdued for some time." It also pared its expectations for buying agency debt and agency MBS to $175B compared to a former maximum of $200B, to wrap up by the end of Q1. Here's a side-by-side comparison of Wednesday's statement with the previous one. Stocks surged after the statement, but a late-day selloff sent major indexes back to breakeven.
    • Attention Wall Street Breakfast readers: We're looking for a freelance financial journalist to produce WSB and help with our Market Currents blog in Rachael's absence. More details here.
  • Dodd's drastic detour on bank regulation. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is reportedly readying legislation that would strip the Fed and FDIC of almost all their bank-supervision powers, creating in their place a new agency in charge of supervising all banks and bank-holding companies. Dodd's proposal would also create a council of regulators, overseen by the White House, to monitor systemic risks to the financial system. The suggestion is in stark contrast to approaches taken by the House and favored by the Obama administration, which have pushed to expand the Fed's powers. Dodd's model is likely to face heavy resistance, particularly from the banking industry, which is ironic since Dodd has been criticized for being too cozy with Wall Street bankers.
  • Skype deal almost done. The private-equity investors that agreed to buy 65% of Skype from eBay (EBAY) for about $2.1B are on the verge of settling their dispute with Skype's founders in a deal that will give them 10% of Skype and a presence on its board, in exchange for giving up rights to the peer-to-peer technology they control and a significant amount of cash. An official announcement could come as soon as this morning.
  • Senate shuffles taxes. The Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would give tax breaks to big companies impacted by the recession; increase taxes on multinational firms; extend and expand the homebuyers tax credit; and lengthen unemployment benefits. The proposed tax increases are aimed at offsetting the cost of the breaks, which business leaders worry may be a harbinger of more tax increases to come.
  • Chambers sounds all clear. Cisco's (CSCO) net profit dropped 19% on lower sales (see data below), but CEO John Chambers gave an optimistic outlook on the economy and said businesses were ready to resume spending on technology. On Cisco's Q3 earnings call, Chambers told analysts the recovery "is well underway" and that economic improvements were "gaining momentum" worldwide. He also predicted Cisco's revenue would grow in Q4 after a year of contraction.
  • Junk default rate hits post-Depression high. The global speculative-grade default rate rose to 12.4% in October, surpassing the record set in 1991 for the highest proportion of defaults since the Great Depression, Moody's said in a report this morning. Moody's believes the default rate may peak in November at 12.5%, noting the total number of defaults declined to eight in October, the lowest count this year.
  • Big bonuses are back. Wall Street incentive pay is set to rise by about 40% according to a closely-watched survey to be released today, as stronger markets collide with the backlash over bonuses. Johnson Associates predicts incentive-based payouts will surge by as much as 60% from 2008, led by employees in rebounding businesses like fixed income and equities. In contrast, the firm predicts declines of 15-30% at hedge funds, private-equity firms and prime-brokerage operations which have seen a marked drop in AUM.
  • Consumer bankruptcy strikes new high. Consumer bankruptcy filings hit 135,913 in October, an 8.9% jump from September, and 27.9% higher than a year ago, according to a study by the American Bankruptcy Institute. "The debt overhang from literally a decade or more of really high consumer spending and low savings rates has put families in a particularly vulnerable spot," ABI's Samuel Gerdano said. The rise outpaced a 7% month-on-month increase in business filings.
  • Downgrade dominance declines. S&P said it downgraded only one more nonfinancial firm in October than it upgraded (24-23), a marked improvement considering the downgrade/upgrade ratio from Sept. 2008 to Aug. 2009 was 835-115. S&P said the large drop "supports our belief that aggregate credit quality, although weak, is stabilizing," and noted that the number of companies with a negative ratings outlook or on watch for downgrade has declined steadily. Meanwhile, more than $4B in new corporate bonds were offered Wednesday, including a $2B sale by DuPont (DD).
  • BOE boosts bond buying: The Bank of England kept its target bank rate at 0.5%, as expected, but raised its bond buying program to £200B from £175B, which it expects to complete in about three months. "Banks’ funding conditions have improved, though financial conditions remain fragile," the Bank said, and noted "a number of indicators of spending and confidence, however, suggest that a pickup in economic activity may soon be evident."
  • Private-sector jobs still sliding. ADP's October employment report showed private U.S. payrolls declined by 203,000, while revising September's loss to 227K from 254K - the seventh straight month of declining job losses. ADP's report comes two days before the government's official nonfarm payroll data, and has been reasonably well correlated with NFP data in recent months. Consensus estimates suggest 150–175K job losses in October and an unemployment rate of 9.9%.
  • Online job seeking rises slowly. Monster's index of online job advertising inched up to 120, vs. 119 in Sept and 150 a year ago. Healthcare and public administration demonstrated solid growth, but retail and hospitality hiring retracted. "The rise in the October Index, along with an improvement in the annual rate, indicate a mild expansion in the underlying employer demand for workers," Monster said. "While the decline in consumer confidence has likely contributed to reduced job demand in the retail and hospitality sectors, employers are actively recruiting in the healthcare and public sectors, resulting in stability of the overall Index."

Earnings: Thur. Before Open

  • Allied Capital (ALD): Q3 EPS of $0.02 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $M in-line. Shares -1.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Biovail (BVF): Q3 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $212M in-line. (PR)
  • Cardinal Health (CAH): FQ1 EPS of $0.54 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $24.8B (+5.9%) vs. $24B. (PR)
  • Canadian Natural Resource (CNQ): Q3 EPS of C$1.21 misses by C$0.04. Revenue of C$2.82B (+2.7%) vs. C$2.99B. (PR)
  • CenturyTel (CTL): Q3 EPS of $0.90 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $1.87B (+188.3%) in-line. (PR)
  • CIGNA (CI): Q3 EPS of $1.13 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $4.52B (-6.9%) in-line. (PR)
  • CVS Caremark (CVS): Q3 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $24.6B (+17.7%) in-line. Shares +1% premarket. (PR)
  • Delta Petroleum (DPTR): Q3 EPS of -$0.35 misses by $0.24. Revenue of $23.9M (-66.8%) vs. $21.9M. "We are extremely disappointed with the results of the Gray well, but exploration drilling carries with it significant risks." Shares -12.8% premarket. (PR)
  • DirecTV Group (DTV): Q3 EPS of $0.37 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $5.47B in-line. (PR)
  • Dr Pepper Snapple (DPN): Q3 EPS of $0.54 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.43B (-4%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.92-1.96 vs. $1.97. ""While the economy is showing some signs of recovery, it's still too early to see this translate into higher beverage sales. For the quarter, liquid refreshment beverage trends remained negative." Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Dynegy (DYN): Q3 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.13. Revenue of $673M (-61.7%) vs. $877M. (PR)
  • Frontier Oil (FTO): Q3 EPS of -$0.26 misses by $0.11. Revenue of $1.1B (-45.4%) in-line. (PR)
  • King Pharmaceuticals (KG): Q3 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $463M (+19.3%) vs. $445M. (PR)
  • Lamar Advertising (LAMR): Q3 EPS of -$0.05 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $167M (-13%) vs. $164M. (PR)
  • Macerich (MAC): Q3 FFO of $0.97 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $201M (+49.8%) in-line. (PR)
  • Manulife Financial (MFC): Q3 EPS of C-$0.12 misses by C$0.32. Revenue of C$13.75B. (PR)
  • MGM Mirage (MGM): Q3 EPS of $0.02 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $1.71B (-12.7%) vs. $1.47B. Las Vegas Strip RevPAR fell 21%. Amends credit facility to refinance existing debt and provide more debt of up to $1B. Shares +5.7% premarket. (PR)
  • MetroPCS Communications (PCS): Q3 EPS of $0.21 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $895M (+30.4%) vs. $869M. (PR)
  • MF Global (MF): FQ2 EPS of $0.01 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $493M (-40.9%) vs. $273M. (PR)
  • Nasdaq (NDAQ): Q3 EPS of $0.42 in-line. Revenue of $691M (+3.3%) vs. $355M. (PR)
  • Petrohawk Energy (HK): Q3 EPS of $0.14 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $238M (-22%) vs. $305M. (PR)
  • Plains Exploration & Production (PXP): Q3 EPS of $0.30 misses by $0.23. Revenue of $313M (-56.5%) vs. $376M. Shares -0.6% premarket. (PR)
  • Sara Lee (SLE): FQ1 EPS of $0.24 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $2.59B (-7.4%) vs. $3.16B. Shares +0.2% premarket. (PR)
  • Sirius XM Radio (SIRI): Q3 EPS of $0.00 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $630M (+2.8%) vs. $609M. Ends quarter with 18,515,730 subscribers, +102,295 from Q2. Shares +3.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Spectra Energy (SE): Q3 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $933M (-13.6%) vs. $986M. (PR)
  • Teradata (TDC): Q3 EPS of $0.38 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $425M (-3.2%) in-line. (PR)
  • Thomson Reuters (TRI): Q3 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $3.21B (-3.6%) in-line. "While the weak year-to-date net sales experienced in recent quarters are now flowing through into revenues, we expect this dip to be shallow and limited to the next few quarters." (PR)
  • Time Warner Cable (TWC): Q3 EPS of $0.76 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $4.5B (+3.6%) in-line. (PR)
  • Watson Wyatt (WW): FQ1 EPS of $0.84 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $401M (-5.8%) vs. $394M. Sees FQ2 EPS of $0.81-0.86 vs. $0.89 (PR)
  • Wendy's Arby's Group (WEN): Q3 EPS of $0.06 in-line. Revenue of $903M vs. $916M. Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Wed. After Close

  • Allstate (ALL): Q3 EPS of $0.99 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $7.6B (+4%) vs. $8.5B. Shares -2.1% AH. (8-K)
  • Amdocs (DOX): FQ4 EPS of $0.53 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $707M (-14%) vs. $679M. Sees Q1 EPS of $0.51-0.55 vs. $0.50, on revenue of $705M-725M vs. $676M. Shares +6.2% AH. (PR)
  • Cisco Systems (CSCO): Q3 EPS of $0.36 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $9B (-13%) vs. $8.7B. Shares +2.8% AH. (PR)
  • Corrections Corp. of America (CXW): Q3 EPS of $0.39 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $426M (+6%) vs. $423M. Shares -2.7% AH. (PR)
  • Eagle Bulk Shipping (EGLE): Q3 EPS of $0.06 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $42M (-19%) in-line. Shares -5.7% AH. (PR)
  • Evergreen Solar (ESLR): Q3 EPS of -$0.40 misses by $0.32. Revenue of $78M (+251%) vs. $74M. Shares +2.1% AH. (PR)
  • Goldcorp (GG): Q3 EPS of $0.19 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $692M (+25%) vs. $614M. Shares +2.1% AH. (PR)
  • Goodrich Petroleum (GDP): Q3 EPS of -$0.87 misses by $0.70. Revenue of $24M (-61%) vs. $52M. Shares -7% AH. (PR)
  • Health Care REIT (HCN): Q3 FFO (normalized) of $0.77 in-line. Revenue of $145M (+4%) vs. $143M. Sees full-year EPS of $3.10-3.12 vs. $3.13. Shares +1.6% AH. (PR)
  • ION Geophysical (IO): Q3 EPS of -$0.06 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $102.4M (-53%) vs. $102.6M. Shares -8.4% AH. (PR)
  • Microchip Technology (MCHP): FQ2 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $227M (-16%) vs. $218M. Sees FQ3 EPS of $0.33-0.35 vs. $0.24, on revenue of $236M-245M vs. $224M. Shares +1.6% AH. (PR)
  • Murphy Oil (MUR): Q3 EPS of $0.98 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $5.2B (-37%) vs. $4.4B. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.75-0.90 vs. $1.18. Shares -2% AH. (PR)
  • News Corp. (NWS): FQ1 EPS of $0.22 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $7.2B (-4%) in-line. Shares +3% AH. (PR)
  • ON Semiconductor (ONNN): Q3 EPS of $0.16 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $473M (-19%) vs. $455M. Shares +4% AH. (PR)
  • Prudential Financial (PRU): Q3 EPS of $1.59 beats by $0.26. Revenue of $6.6B (+4%) vs. $6.65B. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
  • Qualcomm (QCOM): FQ4 EPS of $0.48 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $2.7B (-19%) vs. $2.8B. Sees Q1 revenue of $2.55B-2.75B vs. $2.84B. Shares +1% AH. (PR)
  • Sunstone Hotel Investors (SHO): Q3 FFO of $0.14 in-line. Revenue of $176M (-20%) vs. $180M. Shares +2% AH. (PR)
  • THQ (THQI): FQ2 EPS of -$0.08 beats by $0.40. Revenue of $101M (-39%) vs. $92M. Shares +11.5% AH. (PR)
  • Whole Foods Market (WFMI): FQ4 EPS of $0.20 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.8B (-2%) in-line. Same-store sales down 0.9%. Shares -7.7% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asian markets were mixed Thursday. Europe is lower at midday, and futures are flat.

]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:18:56 -0500 SA Editor Eli Hoffmann

  • Fed stays put. The Fed Open Market Committee left target rates unchanged at 0-0.25% by unanimous vote, saying conditions are still "likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period." The Fed acknowledged an ongoing pickup in economic activity, but warned things are likely to remain weak for a while. It noted "substantial" resource slack will continue to dampen cost pressures, and it continues to believe "inflation will remain subdued for some time." It also pared its expectations for buying agency debt and agency MBS to $175B compared to a former maximum of $200B, to wrap up by the end of Q1. Here's a side-by-side comparison of Wednesday's statement with the previous one. Stocks surged after the statement, but a late-day selloff sent major indexes back to breakeven.
    • Attention Wall Street Breakfast readers: We're looking for a freelance financial journalist to produce WSB and help with our Market Currents blog in Rachael's absence. More details here.
  • Dodd's drastic detour on bank regulation. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is reportedly readying legislation that would strip the Fed and FDIC of almost all their bank-supervision powers, creating in their place a new agency in charge of supervising all banks and bank-holding companies. Dodd's proposal would also create a council of regulators, overseen by the White House, to monitor systemic risks to the financial system. The suggestion is in stark contrast to approaches taken by the House and favored by the Obama administration, which have pushed to expand the Fed's powers. Dodd's model is likely to face heavy resistance, particularly from the banking industry, which is ironic since Dodd has been criticized for being too cozy with Wall Street bankers.
  • Skype deal almost done. The private-equity investors that agreed to buy 65% of Skype from eBay (EBAY) for about $2.1B are on the verge of settling their dispute with Skype's founders in a deal that will give them 10% of Skype and a presence on its board, in exchange for giving up rights to the peer-to-peer technology they control and a significant amount of cash. An official announcement could come as soon as this morning.
  • Senate shuffles taxes. The Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would give tax breaks to big companies impacted by the recession; increase taxes on multinational firms; extend and expand the homebuyers tax credit; and lengthen unemployment benefits. The proposed tax increases are aimed at offsetting the cost of the breaks, which business leaders worry may be a harbinger of more tax increases to come.
  • Chambers sounds all clear. Cisco's (CSCO) net profit dropped 19% on lower sales (see data below), but CEO John Chambers gave an optimistic outlook on the economy and said businesses were ready to resume spending on technology. On Cisco's Q3 earnings call, Chambers told analysts the recovery "is well underway" and that economic improvements were "gaining momentum" worldwide. He also predicted Cisco's revenue would grow in Q4 after a year of contraction.
  • Junk default rate hits post-Depression high. The global speculative-grade default rate rose to 12.4% in October, surpassing the record set in 1991 for the highest proportion of defaults since the Great Depression, Moody's said in a report this morning. Moody's believes the default rate may peak in November at 12.5%, noting the total number of defaults declined to eight in October, the lowest count this year.
  • Big bonuses are back. Wall Street incentive pay is set to rise by about 40% according to a closely-watched survey to be released today, as stronger markets collide with the backlash over bonuses. Johnson Associates predicts incentive-based payouts will surge by as much as 60% from 2008, led by employees in rebounding businesses like fixed income and equities. In contrast, the firm predicts declines of 15-30% at hedge funds, private-equity firms and prime-brokerage operations which have seen a marked drop in AUM.
  • Consumer bankruptcy strikes new high. Consumer bankruptcy filings hit 135,913 in October, an 8.9% jump from September, and 27.9% higher than a year ago, according to a study by the American Bankruptcy Institute. "The debt overhang from literally a decade or more of really high consumer spending and low savings rates has put families in a particularly vulnerable spot," ABI's Samuel Gerdano said. The rise outpaced a 7% month-on-month increase in business filings.
  • Downgrade dominance declines. S&P said it downgraded only one more nonfinancial firm in October than it upgraded (24-23), a marked improvement considering the downgrade/upgrade ratio from Sept. 2008 to Aug. 2009 was 835-115. S&P said the large drop "supports our belief that aggregate credit quality, although weak, is stabilizing," and noted that the number of companies with a negative ratings outlook or on watch for downgrade has declined steadily. Meanwhile, more than $4B in new corporate bonds were offered Wednesday, including a $2B sale by DuPont (DD).
  • BOE boosts bond buying: The Bank of England kept its target bank rate at 0.5%, as expected, but raised its bond buying program to £200B from £175B, which it expects to complete in about three months. "Banks’ funding conditions have improved, though financial conditions remain fragile," the Bank said, and noted "a number of indicators of spending and confidence, however, suggest that a pickup in economic activity may soon be evident."
  • Private-sector jobs still sliding. ADP's October employment report showed private U.S. payrolls declined by 203,000, while revising September's loss to 227K from 254K - the seventh straight month of declining job losses. ADP's report comes two days before the government's official nonfarm payroll data, and has been reasonably well correlated with NFP data in recent months. Consensus estimates suggest 150–175K job losses in October and an unemployment rate of 9.9%.
  • Online job seeking rises slowly. Monster's index of online job advertising inched up to 120, vs. 119 in Sept and 150 a year ago. Healthcare and public administration demonstrated solid growth, but retail and hospitality hiring retracted. "The rise in the October Index, along with an improvement in the annual rate, indicate a mild expansion in the underlying employer demand for workers," Monster said. "While the decline in consumer confidence has likely contributed to reduced job demand in the retail and hospitality sectors, employers are actively recruiting in the healthcare and public sectors, resulting in stability of the overall Index."

Earnings: Thur. Before Open

  • Allied Capital (ALD): Q3 EPS of $0.02 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $M in-line. Shares -1.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Biovail (BVF): Q3 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $212M in-line. (PR)
  • Cardinal Health (CAH): FQ1 EPS of $0.54 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $24.8B (+5.9%) vs. $24B. (PR)
  • Canadian Natural Resource (CNQ): Q3 EPS of C$1.21 misses by C$0.04. Revenue of C$2.82B (+2.7%) vs. C$2.99B. (PR)
  • CenturyTel (CTL): Q3 EPS of $0.90 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $1.87B (+188.3%) in-line. (PR)
  • CIGNA (CI): Q3 EPS of $1.13 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $4.52B (-6.9%) in-line. (PR)
  • CVS Caremark (CVS): Q3 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $24.6B (+17.7%) in-line. Shares +1% premarket. (PR)
  • Delta Petroleum (DPTR): Q3 EPS of -$0.35 misses by $0.24. Revenue of $23.9M (-66.8%) vs. $21.9M. "We are extremely disappointed with the results of the Gray well, but exploration drilling carries with it significant risks." Shares -12.8% premarket. (PR)
  • DirecTV Group (DTV): Q3 EPS of $0.37 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $5.47B in-line. (PR)
  • Dr Pepper Snapple (DPN): Q3 EPS of $0.54 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.43B (-4%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.92-1.96 vs. $1.97. ""While the economy is showing some signs of recovery, it's still too early to see this translate into higher beverage sales. For the quarter, liquid refreshment beverage trends remained negative." Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Dynegy (DYN): Q3 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.13. Revenue of $673M (-61.7%) vs. $877M. (PR)
  • Frontier Oil (FTO): Q3 EPS of -$0.26 misses by $0.11. Revenue of $1.1B (-45.4%) in-line. (PR)
  • King Pharmaceuticals (KG): Q3 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $463M (+19.3%) vs. $445M. (PR)
  • Lamar Advertising (LAMR): Q3 EPS of -$0.05 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $167M (-13%) vs. $164M. (PR)
  • Macerich (MAC): Q3 FFO of $0.97 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $201M (+49.8%) in-line. (PR)
  • Manulife Financial (MFC): Q3 EPS of C-$0.12 misses by C$0.32. Revenue of C$13.75B. (PR)
  • MGM Mirage (MGM): Q3 EPS of $0.02 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $1.71B (-12.7%) vs. $1.47B. Las Vegas Strip RevPAR fell 21%. Amends credit facility to refinance existing debt and provide more debt of up to $1B. Shares +5.7% premarket. (PR)
  • MetroPCS Communications (PCS): Q3 EPS of $0.21 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $895M (+30.4%) vs. $869M. (PR)
  • MF Global (MF): FQ2 EPS of $0.01 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $493M (-40.9%) vs. $273M. (PR)
  • Nasdaq (NDAQ): Q3 EPS of $0.42 in-line. Revenue of $691M (+3.3%) vs. $355M. (PR)
  • Petrohawk Energy (HK): Q3 EPS of $0.14 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $238M (-22%) vs. $305M. (PR)
  • Plains Exploration & Production (PXP): Q3 EPS of $0.30 misses by $0.23. Revenue of $313M (-56.5%) vs. $376M. Shares -0.6% premarket. (PR)
  • Sara Lee (SLE): FQ1 EPS of $0.24 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $2.59B (-7.4%) vs. $3.16B. Shares +0.2% premarket. (PR)
  • Sirius XM Radio (SIRI): Q3 EPS of $0.00 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $630M (+2.8%) vs. $609M. Ends quarter with 18,515,730 subscribers, +102,295 from Q2. Shares +3.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Spectra Energy (SE): Q3 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $933M (-13.6%) vs. $986M. (PR)
  • Teradata (TDC): Q3 EPS of $0.38 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $425M (-3.2%) in-line. (PR)
  • Thomson Reuters (TRI): Q3 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $3.21B (-3.6%) in-line. "While the weak year-to-date net sales experienced in recent quarters are now flowing through into revenues, we expect this dip to be shallow and limited to the next few quarters." (PR)
  • Time Warner Cable (TWC): Q3 EPS of $0.76 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $4.5B (+3.6%) in-line. (PR)
  • Watson Wyatt (WW): FQ1 EPS of $0.84 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $401M (-5.8%) vs. $394M. Sees FQ2 EPS of $0.81-0.86 vs. $0.89 (PR)
  • Wendy's Arby's Group (WEN): Q3 EPS of $0.06 in-line. Revenue of $903M vs. $916M. Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Wed. After Close

  • Allstate (ALL): Q3 EPS of $0.99 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $7.6B (+4%) vs. $8.5B. Shares -2.1% AH. (8-K)
  • Amdocs (DOX): FQ4 EPS of $0.53 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $707M (-14%) vs. $679M. Sees Q1 EPS of $0.51-0.55 vs. $0.50, on revenue of $705M-725M vs. $676M. Shares +6.2% AH. (PR)
  • Cisco Systems (CSCO): Q3 EPS of $0.36 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $9B (-13%) vs. $8.7B. Shares +2.8% AH. (PR)
  • Corrections Corp. of America (CXW): Q3 EPS of $0.39 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $426M (+6%) vs. $423M. Shares -2.7% AH. (PR)
  • Eagle Bulk Shipping (EGLE): Q3 EPS of $0.06 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $42M (-19%) in-line. Shares -5.7% AH. (PR)
  • Evergreen Solar (ESLR): Q3 EPS of -$0.40 misses by $0.32. Revenue of $78M (+251%) vs. $74M. Shares +2.1% AH. (PR)
  • Goldcorp (GG): Q3 EPS of $0.19 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $692M (+25%) vs. $614M. Shares +2.1% AH. (PR)
  • Goodrich Petroleum (GDP): Q3 EPS of -$0.87 misses by $0.70. Revenue of $24M (-61%) vs. $52M. Shares -7% AH. (PR)
  • Health Care REIT (HCN): Q3 FFO (normalized) of $0.77 in-line. Revenue of $145M (+4%) vs. $143M. Sees full-year EPS of $3.10-3.12 vs. $3.13. Shares +1.6% AH. (PR)
  • ION Geophysical (IO): Q3 EPS of -$0.06 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $102.4M (-53%) vs. $102.6M. Shares -8.4% AH. (PR)
  • Microchip Technology (MCHP): FQ2 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $227M (-16%) vs. $218M. Sees FQ3 EPS of $0.33-0.35 vs. $0.24, on revenue of $236M-245M vs. $224M. Shares +1.6% AH. (PR)
  • Murphy Oil (MUR): Q3 EPS of $0.98 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $5.2B (-37%) vs. $4.4B. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.75-0.90 vs. $1.18. Shares -2% AH. (PR)
  • News Corp. (NWS): FQ1 EPS of $0.22 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $7.2B (-4%) in-line. Shares +3% AH. (PR)
  • ON Semiconductor (ONNN): Q3 EPS of $0.16 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $473M (-19%) vs. $455M. Shares +4% AH. (PR)
  • Prudential Financial (PRU): Q3 EPS of $1.59 beats by $0.26. Revenue of $6.6B (+4%) vs. $6.65B. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
  • Qualcomm (QCOM): FQ4 EPS of $0.48 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $2.7B (-19%) vs. $2.8B. Sees Q1 revenue of $2.55B-2.75B vs. $2.84B. Shares +1% AH. (PR)
  • Sunstone Hotel Investors (SHO): Q3 FFO of $0.14 in-line. Revenue of $176M (-20%) vs. $180M. Shares +2% AH. (PR)
  • THQ (THQI): FQ2 EPS of -$0.08 beats by $0.40. Revenue of $101M (-39%) vs. $92M. Shares +11.5% AH. (PR)
  • Whole Foods Market (WFMI): FQ4 EPS of $0.20 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.8B (-2%) in-line. Same-store sales down 0.9%. Shares -7.7% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asian markets were mixed Thursday. Europe is lower at midday, and futures are flat.


Complete Story »]]> ALD ALL BVF CAH CI CNQ CSCO CTL CVS CXW DD DIA DOX DPN DPTR DTV DYN EBAY EGLE ESLR FTO GDP GG GLD HCN HK IO KG LAMR MAC MCHP MF MFC MGM MUR NDAQ NWS ONNN PCS PRU PXP QCOM QQQQ SE SHO SIRI SLE SPY TDC THQI TRI TWC USO WEN WFMI WW SA Editor Eli Hoffmann Solar Stocks Break Down Yet Again http://seekingalpha.com/article/170176-solar-stocks-break-down-yet-again?source=feed 170176 Speculative stocks typically get hit the hardest during corrections in the stock market, and solar stocks definitely qualify for a beating. In the past 4 days of selling, TAN, the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index, is already down 10%. Solar stocks have been big laggards this year as TAN is now back to even on the year. See chart below:


As a group, solar stocks have gone nowhere this year

As a group, solar stocks have gone nowhere this year

]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:37:17 -0400 Dr. Duru Dr. Duru submits:

Speculative stocks typically get hit the hardest during corrections in the stock market, and solar stocks definitely qualify for a beating. In the past 4 days of selling, TAN, the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index, is already down 10%. Solar stocks have been big laggards this year as TAN is now back to even on the year. See chart below:


As a group, solar stocks have gone nowhere this year

As a group, solar stocks have gone nowhere this year


Complete Story »]]> CSIQ CSUN ENER ESLR FSLR JASO LDK SOL SPWRA STP TAN TSL WFR YGE Dr. Duru The Sweet Smell of Solar Values http://seekingalpha.com/article/165781-the-sweet-smell-of-solar-values?source=feed 165781 For decades, enterprising marketers have unabashedly pitched knockoffs of designer colognes and perfumes at cut rate prices. They were originally marketed with catchy slogans like: “If you like GIORGIO, you’ll love PRIMO.” Today, it might read “If you like OBSESSION, you’ll love RECESSION.”
I thought of this vis a vis solar stocks because we are seeing something reminiscent of this today…with a twist. Today we are seeing the real stuff on sale. It’s Brioni suits at Filene’s Basement or TJ Maxx. Truly the same, but much cheaper and in your size. We humbly offer you four examples of designer quality solar companies without the designer prices.
If you like Yingli (YGE), you’ll love Trina (TSL). This duo is a fairly traditional relative value play with an edge. The investor community has crowned Yingli as the global low cost leader, a title rightfully deserved in the recent past. However, on the way to Yingli’s coronation, Trina usurped the throne as the low cost king. After crunching the Q2 2009 data, we estimate that Trina sustains a ~10% fully loaded cost advantage over Yingli. Trina can manufacture a module for $2.05 per watt whereas Yingli is producing at $2.30 per watt including COGS, operating expenses and interest expense. In fairness to Yingli, we hold them in high regard as one of the leading global solar companies (and a cost leader) and have owned their stock and related securities in the past. However, with Trina, we own a slightly lower cost producer with 75% of the capacity at ~50% of the enterprise value. Trina has a comparable if not more favorably diversified geographic footprint, higher gross and operating margins, a bankable brand, a better balance sheet (70% less net debt than YGE), and a simpler corporate structure. And most importantly, Trina trades at a discounted valuation to Yingli. Based on consensus (and not our significantly higher proprietary earnings estimates for Trina), Yingli trades at ~16.5X 2010E EPS whereas Trina ~13.5X.
If you like Evergreen Solar (ESLR), you’ll love ATS Automation (ATSAF.PK). We have always liked Evergreen’s string ribbon technology, especially in an era of $400/kg polysilicon. Unfortunately, commercializing that technology ballooned ESLR’s balance sheet. Today, ESLR has a $600 million enterprise value and is likely to remain unprofitable for the near future. ATS Automation manufactures the “Quad” furnaces that are the heart of Evergreen’s wafer technology. While Evergreen has not managed to make money, they are intent on driving their business. Each new factory or JV is a win for ATS without the capex needed by Evergreen or its partners. A source at Evergreen confirmed that they were paying $185,000 per furnace in the boom times of 2008. It truly is getting the milk without buying the cow. Moreover, in ATS we own its other solid automation businesses serving energy, healthcare and other end markets. Finally, ATS owns Photowatt, a solid PV manufacturer and installer with some challenges but well positioned in two of the most rapidly emerging and highly subsidized solar markets: France and Ontario. This makes me think of another example: If you like(d) Spain’s solar market in 2008, you’ll love Ontario. But that’s another story for another time. With a superb management team and a cash rich balance sheet, ATS is an Esplanade favorite.
If you like First Solar (FSLR), you’ll love integrated Chinese module makers and upgraded metallurgical silicon (CSIQ/TSL/TIM in Canada). Everyone is focused on the “second” First Solar. We admire First Solar (though we don’t own the stock). Frankly, they have no real competition for what they do. The most likely competition on the cost side, however, is not a venture-backed “highly promising” company (possible but unlikely anytime soon), but rather a few companies with one weapon. Start with the global leading processing and administrative cost structure of Canadian Solar (CSIQ) or Trina. Then add upgraded metallurgical silicon [UMg] (instead of traditional polysilicon), such as that made by Timminco (TIMNF.PK). Most people have assumed that polysilicon will continue its price decline into perpetuity. We disagree. If polysilicon pricing holds or even rises, then UMg becomes a very compelling low cost substitute. In 2010, we can easily envision UMg module costs of: $0.85 processing for the ingot through module. $0.21 for UMg ($30/kg at 7 g/watt), and $0.20 for operating expenses. All in cost of $1.26 versus FSLR fully-loaded at ~$1.23 in Q2 2009 (admittedly, this will decline in 2010). Should FSLR be scared? No, but they should keep an eye on their rear view mirror for this compelling combination.
If you like Phoenix Solar, Real Goods (RSOL), Akeena (AKNS) or any other downstream solar company, you’ll love Systaic. It’s difficult to fault even the most seasoned solar investors for overlooking this tiny EUR EUR 76 million market capitalization solar project developer, yet it trades at ~25% of Phoenix Solar’s enterprise value to ebitda. Systaic boasts a robust 205 megawatt solar power plant pipeline (largely in Italy) that should be realized through the end of 2010. With EUR 700 million in potential revenue from their large solar power plant segment alone, systaic will not remain unnoticed for long. We estimate that the power plant segment can generate over EUR 40 million in EBIT in 2009 alone, which suggests that the entire enterprise is trading at ~2X the power plant segment 2009E EBIT.
In addition to its core and very profitable power plant business, Systaic is nurturing two potentially explosive growth businesses, solar energy roof systems and automotive solar roofs. Management believes that the solar energy roof systems business can generate EUR 100 million in revenue in 2010 (versus ~EUR 30 million in 2009) and that the automotive roof segment can deliver EUR 100 million in revenue within three years. In the meantime, these two businesses barely consume cash, and management is confident that the solar roof systems business will turn a profit in Q4 2009. We have confidence in Systaic’s veteran management team to deliver on these two promising businesses, and we believe that trading at 4.7X our estimate for 2009 EPS and 8X 2009 consensus (two analysts), we get the potential of the energy roof and automotive segments for free.
Ah, the sweet smell of solar values.
Disclosure: Funds the author manages are long ATS Automation, Canadian Solar, Systaic AG, Timminco, and Trina Solar
]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:03:54 -0400 Shawn Kravetz For decades, enterprising marketers have unabashedly pitched knockoffs of designer colognes and perfumes at cut rate prices. They were originally marketed with catchy slogans like: “If you like GIORGIO, you’ll love PRIMO.” Today, it might read “If you like OBSESSION, you’ll love RECESSION.”
I thought of this vis a vis solar stocks because we are seeing something reminiscent of this today…with a twist. Today we are seeing the real stuff on sale. It’s Brioni suits at Filene’s Basement or TJ Maxx. Truly the same, but much cheaper and in your size. We humbly offer you four examples of designer quality solar companies without the designer prices.
If you like Yingli (YGE), you’ll love Trina (TSL). This duo is a fairly traditional relative value play with an edge. The investor community has crowned Yingli as the global low cost leader, a title rightfully deserved in the recent past. However, on the way to Yingli’s coronation, Trina usurped the throne as the low cost king. After crunching the Q2 2009 data, we estimate that Trina sustains a ~10% fully loaded cost advantage over Yingli. Trina can manufacture a module for $2.05 per watt whereas Yingli is producing at $2.30 per watt including COGS, operating expenses and interest expense. In fairness to Yingli, we hold them in high regard as one of the leading global solar companies (and a cost leader) and have owned their stock and related securities in the past. However, with Trina, we own a slightly lower cost producer with 75% of the capacity at ~50% of the enterprise value. Trina has a comparable if not more favorably diversified geographic footprint, higher gross and operating margins, a bankable brand, a better balance sheet (70% less net debt than YGE), and a simpler corporate structure. And most importantly, Trina trades at a discounted valuation to Yingli. Based on consensus (and not our significantly higher proprietary earnings estimates for Trina), Yingli trades at ~16.5X 2010E EPS whereas Trina ~13.5X.
If you like Evergreen Solar (ESLR), you’ll love ATS Automation (ATSAF.PK). We have always liked Evergreen’s string ribbon technology, especially in an era of $400/kg polysilicon. Unfortunately, commercializing that technology ballooned ESLR’s balance sheet. Today, ESLR has a $600 million enterprise value and is likely to remain unprofitable for the near future. ATS Automation manufactures the “Quad” furnaces that are the heart of Evergreen’s wafer technology. While Evergreen has not managed to make money, they are intent on driving their business. Each new factory or JV is a win for ATS without the capex needed by Evergreen or its partners. A source at Evergreen confirmed that they were paying $185,000 per furnace in the boom times of 2008. It truly is getting the milk without buying the cow. Moreover, in ATS we own its other solid automation businesses serving energy, healthcare and other end markets. Finally, ATS owns Photowatt, a solid PV manufacturer and installer with some challenges but well positioned in two of the most rapidly emerging and highly subsidized solar markets: France and Ontario. This makes me think of another example: If you like(d) Spain’s solar market in 2008, you’ll love Ontario. But that’s another story for another time. With a superb management team and a cash rich balance sheet, ATS is an Esplanade favorite.
If you like First Solar (FSLR), you’ll love integrated Chinese module makers and upgraded metallurgical silicon (CSIQ/TSL/TIM in Canada). Everyone is focused on the “second” First Solar. We admire First Solar (though we don’t own the stock). Frankly, they have no real competition for what they do. The most likely competition on the cost side, however, is not a venture-backed “highly promising” company (possible but unlikely anytime soon), but rather a few companies with one weapon. Start with the global leading processing and administrative cost structure of Canadian Solar (CSIQ) or Trina. Then add upgraded metallurgical silicon [UMg] (instead of traditional polysilicon), such as that made by Timminco (TIMNF.PK). Most people have assumed that polysilicon will continue its price decline into perpetuity. We disagree. If polysilicon pricing holds or even rises, then UMg becomes a very compelling low cost substitute. In 2010, we can easily envision UMg module costs of: $0.85 processing for the ingot through module. $0.21 for UMg ($30/kg at 7 g/watt), and $0.20 for operating expenses. All in cost of $1.26 versus FSLR fully-loaded at ~$1.23 in Q2 2009 (admittedly, this will decline in 2010). Should FSLR be scared? No, but they should keep an eye on their rear view mirror for this compelling combination.
If you like Phoenix Solar, Real Goods (RSOL), Akeena (AKNS) or any other downstream solar company, you’ll love Systaic. It’s difficult to fault even the most seasoned solar investors for overlooking this tiny EUR EUR 76 million market capitalization solar project developer, yet it trades at ~25% of Phoenix Solar’s enterprise value to ebitda. Systaic boasts a robust 205 megawatt solar power plant pipeline (largely in Italy) that should be realized through the end of 2010. With EUR 700 million in potential revenue from their large solar power plant segment alone, systaic will not remain unnoticed for long. We estimate that the power plant segment can generate over EUR 40 million in EBIT in 2009 alone, which suggests that the entire enterprise is trading at ~2X the power plant segment 2009E EBIT.
In addition to its core and very profitable power plant business, Systaic is nurturing two potentially explosive growth businesses, solar energy roof systems and automotive solar roofs. Management believes that the solar energy roof systems business can generate EUR 100 million in revenue in 2010 (versus ~EUR 30 million in 2009) and that the automotive roof segment can deliver EUR 100 million in revenue within three years. In the meantime, these two businesses barely consume cash, and management is confident that the solar roof systems business will turn a profit in Q4 2009. We have confidence in Systaic’s veteran management team to deliver on these two promising businesses, and we believe that trading at 4.7X our estimate for 2009 EPS and 8X 2009 consensus (two analysts), we get the potential of the energy roof and automotive segments for free.
Ah, the sweet smell of solar values.
Disclosure: Funds the author manages are long ATS Automation, Canadian Solar, Systaic AG, Timminco, and Trina Solar

Complete Story »]]> AKNS ATSAF.PK CSIQ ESLR FSLR RSOL TIMNF.PK TSL YGE Shawn Kravetz Solar Roundup: First Solar Sells Project, Evergreen Plagued By Crickets http://seekingalpha.com/article/164646-solar-roundup-first-solar-sells-project-evergreen-plagued-by-crickets?source=feed 164646 A roundup of solar news from around the world:

Solar Market Remains Dismal in 2010

In a business update Friday, Renewable Energy Corp. (REC) in Norway said solar market conditions are likely to remain weak next year. REC, which makes everything from silicon to solar panels, said it would have to continue to comply with its customers' demand for renegotiating contracts for silicon wafers as a result of the lackluster market. REC also announced an offer of a €300 million convertible bond Friday.

]]> Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:17:16 -0400 Greentech Media Greentech Media submits:

A roundup of solar news from around the world:

Solar Market Remains Dismal in 2010

In a business update Friday, Renewable Energy Corp. (REC) in Norway said solar market conditions are likely to remain weak next year. REC, which makes everything from silicon to solar panels, said it would have to continue to comply with its customers' demand for renegotiating contracts for silicon wafers as a result of the lackluster market. REC also announced an offer of a €300 million convertible bond Friday.


Complete Story »]]> ENB ESLR FSLR SPWRA SRE TAN Greentech Media Tallying the Damage in Solar Stocks and Sifting for Opportunity http://seekingalpha.com/article/164493-tallying-the-damage-in-solar-stocks-and-sifting-for-opportunity?source=feed 164493 Thursday’s stock market sell-off could finally be the start of the sharp Fall correction I have speculated about in various forms for months now. The extent of the technical damage and the heavy distribution of stock certainly seem to have put a ceiling on stock prices for now. Solar stocks were heavily hit as speculative stocks tend to experience aggressive selling in this kind of market backdrop. For some solar stocks, Thursday was just a continuation of on-going weakness, and for others, Thursday marked a definitive change in the chart technicals. It is interesting to observe how many solar stocks remain stuck within multi-month trading ranges.

The following list tallies some of the technical damage and identifies my latest thoughts on any potential opportunities. Again, the increasing risk of a sharp sell-off in the stock market is the biggest risk factor for any potential longs. (In the interest of space and time, I only posted one chart. Stocks are listed in descending order of Thursday’s price performance).

]]> Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:21:03 -0400 Dr. Duru Dr. Duru submits:

Thursday’s stock market sell-off could finally be the start of the sharp Fall correction I have speculated about in various forms for months now. The extent of the technical damage and the heavy distribution of stock certainly seem to have put a ceiling on stock prices for now. Solar stocks were heavily hit as speculative stocks tend to experience aggressive selling in this kind of market backdrop. For some solar stocks, Thursday was just a continuation of on-going weakness, and for others, Thursday marked a definitive change in the chart technicals. It is interesting to observe how many solar stocks remain stuck within multi-month trading ranges.

The following list tallies some of the technical damage and identifies my latest thoughts on any potential opportunities. Again, the increasing risk of a sharp sell-off in the stock market is the biggest risk factor for any potential longs. (In the interest of space and time, I only posted one chart. Stocks are listed in descending order of Thursday’s price performance).


Complete Story »]]> CSUN ENER ESLR FSLR JASO KWT LDK SOL SOLF SOLR SPWRA STP TAN TSL WFR YGE Dr. Duru ReneSola Acquisition Helps Round Out Solar Co. http://seekingalpha.com/article/163807-renesola-acquisition-helps-round-out-solar-co?source=feed 163807 ReneSola Ltd. (SOL) entered into a share purchase agreement with Dynamic Green Energy Limited to acquire 100% of its shares in consideration of 26.8 million ordinary shares and issue $10 million in convertible promissory notes. The transaction has already been approved by the boards of both companies.

Dynamic Green manufactures solar products ranging from ingots to photovoltaic modules, through its wholly-owned unit Jiawei Solarchina Co. Ltd. and other Chinese operating units. The company also provides original equipment manufacturing services for leading solar manufacturers like Evergreen Solar (ESLR) and SunPower Corporation (SPWRA).

]]> Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:47:55 -0400 Zacks.com Zacks.com submits:

ReneSola Ltd. (SOL) entered into a share purchase agreement with Dynamic Green Energy Limited to acquire 100% of its shares in consideration of 26.8 million ordinary shares and issue $10 million in convertible promissory notes. The transaction has already been approved by the boards of both companies.

Dynamic Green manufactures solar products ranging from ingots to photovoltaic modules, through its wholly-owned unit Jiawei Solarchina Co. Ltd. and other Chinese operating units. The company also provides original equipment manufacturing services for leading solar manufacturers like Evergreen Solar (ESLR) and SunPower Corporation (SPWRA).


Complete Story »]]> ESLR SOL SPWRA Zacks.com Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (August 31 - September 6, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/160589-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-august-31-september-6-2009?source=feed 160589 Japan

Hardware

• NEC Corp. (NELTY.PK), Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) and Casio Computer Co. (CSIOY.PK) plan to merge their mobile handset operations. This will create the country's second-largest cellphone maker by shipments after Sharp Corp. (SHCAY.PK). The Japanese cellphone makers aim to boost profitability by consolidating operations to save money in a domestic market nearing saturation. A consolidation of the three players would help lessen their spending on development costs and ride out the tough local market. This would also trigger an expansion overseas. That prospect encouraged the investors to snap up shares in the three companies.

]]> Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:33:46 -0400 IRG Japan

Hardware

• NEC Corp. (NELTY.PK), Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) and Casio Computer Co. (CSIOY.PK) plan to merge their mobile handset operations. This will create the country's second-largest cellphone maker by shipments after Sharp Corp. (SHCAY.PK). The Japanese cellphone makers aim to boost profitability by consolidating operations to save money in a domestic market nearing saturation. A consolidation of the three players would help lessen their spending on development costs and ride out the tough local market. This would also trigger an expansion overseas. That prospect encouraged the investors to snap up shares in the three companies.


Complete Story »]]> ALBCF.PK ALU BIDU CHA CHL CHT CHU CSIOY.PK EJ ELPDF.PK ERIC ERTS ESLR GOOG HIT KDDIF.PK LDK MOT NCTY NELTY.PK PXPL SINA SNE SSNLF.PK ZTCOF.PK IRG Top Solar Investing Hedge Fund List http://seekingalpha.com/article/156121-top-solar-investing-hedge-fund-list?source=feed 156121 Last week HedgeTracker.com released its list of Top Solar-Focused hedge funds by percentage of assets. This week we look at the top hedge funds based on their total investment in the solar sector. The only hedge fund to make both of HedgeTracker’s lists is Partner Fund Management.

The top solar hedge fund investor is Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital. Mr. Ainslie is a “Tiger Cub,” or a former protégé of Julian Robertson of Tiger Management. As of Q1 ’09, the fund had $180.33mm of its $5,529mm, or 3.26% of its portfolio, invested in solar. However, the firm is not necessarily a believer in the solar sector overall, as the firm’s solar exposure is entirely concentrated in First Solar Inc. (FSLR) with 1,358,902 shares. Notably, over the first quarter, the firm purchased $85.29mm or 642,756 shares of FSLR.

]]> Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:59:08 -0400 Todd Walker Todd Walker submits:

Last week HedgeTracker.com released its list of Top Solar-Focused hedge funds by percentage of assets. This week we look at the top hedge funds based on their total investment in the solar sector. The only hedge fund to make both of HedgeTracker’s lists is Partner Fund Management.

The top solar hedge fund investor is Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital. Mr. Ainslie is a “Tiger Cub,” or a former protégé of Julian Robertson of Tiger Management. As of Q1 ’09, the fund had $180.33mm of its $5,529mm, or 3.26% of its portfolio, invested in solar. However, the firm is not necessarily a believer in the solar sector overall, as the firm’s solar exposure is entirely concentrated in First Solar Inc. (FSLR) with 1,358,902 shares. Notably, over the first quarter, the firm purchased $85.29mm or 642,756 shares of FSLR.


Complete Story »]]> ASTI CSIQ ENER ESLR FSLR JASO KWT LDK SOL SOLF SPWRA SPWRB STP TA TSL YGE Todd Walker Partner Fund, Cavalry, Prescott Group Join Top Solar-Focused Hedge Fund List http://seekingalpha.com/article/153911-partner-fund-cavalry-prescott-group-join-top-solar-focused-hedge-fund-list?source=feed 153911 HedgeTracker.com has released its latest list of Top Solar-Focused hedge funds, and the Q1 2009 list includes a few newcomers: Partner Fund Management, Cavalry Asset Management and Prescott Group Capital Management. The funds selected for the list had the greatest percentage of their US equity assets under management invested in US-listed Solar Stocks as of 3/31/09 (see complete list of stocks below).

Like Q4 2008, the Q1 2009 list includes both Tracer Capital Management and Crosslink Capital. Last quarter, NY-based Tracer Capital held all of its solar holdings, 10% of its total equity portfolio, in First Solar Inc. (FSLR). Tracer Capital diversified its solar portfolio this quarter by purchasing 400,000 shares ($2.4 mm) in Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE). Over the quarter, the hedge fund manager reduced its holdings in FSLR, selling 56,720 shares, bringing its FSLR exposure to 80,000 shares ($10.6 mm). At the end of the first quarter, the firm’s overall investments in the solar sector stood at 8.97% of its $145 mm in equity assets under management.
Sy Kaufman and Michael Stark’s Crosslink Capital remained on the list despite the fact that it sold out of its SunPower Corp (SPWRB) and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) positions, -125,800 and -206,700 shares, respectively. The hedge fund manager also trimmed its holdings in First Solar Inc. (FSLR) by 10,700 shares, bringing its holdings to 148,852 shares ($19.75 mm). On the buying side, Crosslink Capital entered into a new position in JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO), purchasing 1,608,200 ($5.42 mm). Crosslink Capital’s overall exposure to the solar sector stood at 5.4% of its $464 mm US Equity portfolio.
The largest hedge fund manager on this quarter’s list is newcomer Partner Fund Management, which held 6.49% ($49.38 mm) of its $760mm in assets in the solar sector. The fund was bullish on the sector, as it poured approximately $38.46mm into solar stocks. The San Francisco-based Partner Fund was started in 2004 by Christopher James. In early 2007, the firm’s technology research efforts received a boost when Chris Aristides from Magnetar Capital joined the firm to manage Partner Fund’s technology fund.
Partner Fund’s solar positions include First Solar Inc. (FSLR): 293,585 shares ($39 mm), Suntech Power Holdings (STP): 694,952 shares ($8.12 mm), and JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO): 683,847 shares ($2.3 mm). Over the quarter, Partner Fund purchased 248,925, 594,952, and 442,189 shares in FSLR, JASO, and STP, respectively. Notably, the firm also closed out of three other investments it had in the solar sector, including Yingli Green Energy (YGE) -$1.7mm, LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (LDK) -$1.05mm, and Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) -$0.26mm.
Since the last reporting period (3/31/09), only one of the fourteen stocks included in the study saw its stock price fall. From 3/31/09 to 7/31/09, Evergreen Solar’s (ESLR) stock price fell by -1.4%, from $2.13 to $2.10. Overall, over the same period, the total sector market capitalization increased significantly from $18 billion to $28 billion. As of 7/31/2009, the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index was also up about 34%, highlighting the strong performance of solar stocks.
Standout performers from 3/31/09 to 7/31/09 include Trina Solar Limited (TSL), Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ), and Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE), which increased by 171%, 143% and 120%, respectively. Out of the fourteen solar companies, eleven posted returns over 30%. Solar performance over the period was positioned to be more impressive, however, earnings reports at the end of July pushed many of the top solar stocks, such as FSLR, STP, ENER, ESLR, YGE, and SOL, down by as much as 12%.
The next hedge fund manager on the list is San Francisco-based Cavalry Asset Management. The technology-focused firm was founded in 2003 by Managing Member John Hurley. Cavalry invests in public and private investments for approximately twenty universities, foundations and other institutions. At the end of the quarter, the firm held or 4.74% ($24.9 mm) of its $517mm in US equity assets in the solar sector. The bulk of the firm’s sector exposure was held in FSLR, representing 150,000 shares ($19.91 mm), down by -37,728 shares from the end of Q4 2008. On the buying side, Cavalry entered into new positions in JA Solar (JASO): $3.98mm and Trina Solar (TSL): $0.61mm.
The final hedge fund on this quarter’s list is Phil Frohlich’s Oklahoma-based Prescott Group Capital Management. The firm was founded as a private equity firm in 1992 and later expanded into the hedge fund business. Prescott Capital’s overall exposure to the solar sector represented 5.26% ($8.6 mm) of its total $164 mm public equity portfolio. All of the hedge funds current solar positions were new additions to its portfolio, including STP: 452,000 shares ($5.28 mm), JASO: 272,248 shares ($0.92 mm), and YGE: 399,975 shares ($2.41 mm). Notably, Prescott Capital is the only fund in the top 5 with no exposure to FSLR. Over the first quarter, the firm also sold out of its entire ENER position, representing a sell-off of -53,489 shares.
Among the three hedge funds that dropped off the list this quarter, Miura Global Management was the largest seller. Miura Global sold $53.15mm worth of solar stocks, bringing down its sector exposure to 2.54% from 11.8%. Ionic Capital Management was also a large seller as its exposure to solar stocks dropped from 21% of assets under management to 3.59%. The firm sold approximately $32.08mm in solar stocks, selling completely out of its LDK, STP, ENER and JASO positions. Hellman, Jordan Management Co also reduced its solar exposure, as it trimmed its positions in TSL and JASO, as well as selling out of its LDK and FSLR positions.
The solar sector used for this analysis, included: First Solar Inc. (FSLR), Suntech Power Holdings (STP), SunPower Corp. (SPWRA & SPWRB), Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (LDK), Energy Conversion Devices (ENER), JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO), Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR), Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL), ReneSola Ltd (SOL), Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ), Solarfun Power Holdings (SOLF), and Ascent Solar (ASTI).

For more information on the funds and fund managers mentioned in this article, please see their “Detailed Investor Profiles” below:

]]> Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:10:09 -0400 Todd Walker Todd Walker submits:

HedgeTracker.com has released its latest list of Top Solar-Focused hedge funds, and the Q1 2009 list includes a few newcomers: Partner Fund Management, Cavalry Asset Management and Prescott Group Capital Management. The funds selected for the list had the greatest percentage of their US equity assets under management invested in US-listed Solar Stocks as of 3/31/09 (see complete list of stocks below).

Like Q4 2008, the Q1 2009 list includes both Tracer Capital Management and Crosslink Capital. Last quarter, NY-based Tracer Capital held all of its solar holdings, 10% of its total equity portfolio, in First Solar Inc. (FSLR). Tracer Capital diversified its solar portfolio this quarter by purchasing 400,000 shares ($2.4 mm) in Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE). Over the quarter, the hedge fund manager reduced its holdings in FSLR, selling 56,720 shares, bringing its FSLR exposure to 80,000 shares ($10.6 mm). At the end of the first quarter, the firm’s overall investments in the solar sector stood at 8.97% of its $145 mm in equity assets under management.
Sy Kaufman and Michael Stark’s Crosslink Capital remained on the list despite the fact that it sold out of its SunPower Corp (SPWRB) and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) positions, -125,800 and -206,700 shares, respectively. The hedge fund manager also trimmed its holdings in First Solar Inc. (FSLR) by 10,700 shares, bringing its holdings to 148,852 shares ($19.75 mm). On the buying side, Crosslink Capital entered into a new position in JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO), purchasing 1,608,200 ($5.42 mm). Crosslink Capital’s overall exposure to the solar sector stood at 5.4% of its $464 mm US Equity portfolio.
The largest hedge fund manager on this quarter’s list is newcomer Partner Fund Management, which held 6.49% ($49.38 mm) of its $760mm in assets in the solar sector. The fund was bullish on the sector, as it poured approximately $38.46mm into solar stocks. The San Francisco-based Partner Fund was started in 2004 by Christopher James. In early 2007, the firm’s technology research efforts received a boost when Chris Aristides from Magnetar Capital joined the firm to manage Partner Fund’s technology fund.
Partner Fund’s solar positions include First Solar Inc. (FSLR): 293,585 shares ($39 mm), Suntech Power Holdings (STP): 694,952 shares ($8.12 mm), and JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO): 683,847 shares ($2.3 mm). Over the quarter, Partner Fund purchased 248,925, 594,952, and 442,189 shares in FSLR, JASO, and STP, respectively. Notably, the firm also closed out of three other investments it had in the solar sector, including Yingli Green Energy (YGE) -$1.7mm, LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (LDK) -$1.05mm, and Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) -$0.26mm.
Since the last reporting period (3/31/09), only one of the fourteen stocks included in the study saw its stock price fall. From 3/31/09 to 7/31/09, Evergreen Solar’s (ESLR) stock price fell by -1.4%, from $2.13 to $2.10. Overall, over the same period, the total sector market capitalization increased significantly from $18 billion to $28 billion. As of 7/31/2009, the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index was also up about 34%, highlighting the strong performance of solar stocks.
Standout performers from 3/31/09 to 7/31/09 include Trina Solar Limited (TSL), Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ), and Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE), which increased by 171%, 143% and 120%, respectively. Out of the fourteen solar companies, eleven posted returns over 30%. Solar performance over the period was positioned to be more impressive, however, earnings reports at the end of July pushed many of the top solar stocks, such as FSLR, STP, ENER, ESLR, YGE, and SOL, down by as much as 12%.
The next hedge fund manager on the list is San Francisco-based Cavalry Asset Management. The technology-focused firm was founded in 2003 by Managing Member John Hurley. Cavalry invests in public and private investments for approximately twenty universities, foundations and other institutions. At the end of the quarter, the firm held or 4.74% ($24.9 mm) of its $517mm in US equity assets in the solar sector. The bulk of the firm’s sector exposure was held in FSLR, representing 150,000 shares ($19.91 mm), down by -37,728 shares from the end of Q4 2008. On the buying side, Cavalry entered into new positions in JA Solar (JASO): $3.98mm and Trina Solar (TSL): $0.61mm.
The final hedge fund on this quarter’s list is Phil Frohlich’s Oklahoma-based Prescott Group Capital Management. The firm was founded as a private equity firm in 1992 and later expanded into the hedge fund business. Prescott Capital’s overall exposure to the solar sector represented 5.26% ($8.6 mm) of its total $164 mm public equity portfolio. All of the hedge funds current solar positions were new additions to its portfolio, including STP: 452,000 shares ($5.28 mm), JASO: 272,248 shares ($0.92 mm), and YGE: 399,975 shares ($2.41 mm). Notably, Prescott Capital is the only fund in the top 5 with no exposure to FSLR. Over the first quarter, the firm also sold out of its entire ENER position, representing a sell-off of -53,489 shares.
Among the three hedge funds that dropped off the list this quarter, Miura Global Management was the largest seller. Miura Global sold $53.15mm worth of solar stocks, bringing down its sector exposure to 2.54% from 11.8%. Ionic Capital Management was also a large seller as its exposure to solar stocks dropped from 21% of assets under management to 3.59%. The firm sold approximately $32.08mm in solar stocks, selling completely out of its LDK, STP, ENER and JASO positions. Hellman, Jordan Management Co also reduced its solar exposure, as it trimmed its positions in TSL and JASO, as well as selling out of its LDK and FSLR positions.
The solar sector used for this analysis, included: First Solar Inc. (FSLR), Suntech Power Holdings (STP), SunPower Corp. (SPWRA & SPWRB), Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (LDK), Energy Conversion Devices (ENER), JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO), Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR), Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL), ReneSola Ltd (SOL), Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ), Solarfun Power Holdings (SOLF), and Ascent Solar (ASTI).

For more information on the funds and fund managers mentioned in this article, please see their “Detailed Investor Profiles” below:


Complete Story »]]> ASTI CSIQ ENER ESLR FSLR JASO KWT LDK SOL SOLF SPWRA SPWRB STP TAN TSL YGE Todd Walker Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News http://seekingalpha.com/article/152809-wall-street-breakfast-must-know-news?source=feed 152809

  • Bank bonus bonanza. The bonuses paid out to executives at nine banks that received government bailouts exceeded the net income of some of the banks, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, substantially so at Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). Cuomo said employee pay "has become unmoored from the banks' financial performance," and that there is "no clear rhyme or reason to the way banks compensate and reward their employees." Even during what was arguably one of Wall Street's worst years in memory, nearly 5,000 bankers and traders received a bonus above $1M. (Read Cuomo's report (.pdf))
  • Uncertain future for bank pay bill. Following the release of Cuomo's damning bonus report (see above), the House of Representatives will likely approve a bill requiring regulators to ban compensation practices that encourage 'inappropriate risks.' The Senate, however, and the White House are less enthusiastic about the measure, concerned it may give regulators too great a say on incentive pay.
  • Cash for clunkers grinds to a halt. The government has suspended its 'cash for clunkers' program just six days after it started. Meant to encourage new car purchases, the $1B program turned out to be far more popular than expected and has already run through its entire budget, blowing away lawmakers' estimates that the funds would last until November. Lawmakers are pushing for additional funding to help meet the program's larger-than-expected demand.
  • Ford stalls Volvo bidding. Ford has reportedly slowed down the bidding process for Volvo in an attempt to secure a better price for the unit. Ford apparently plans to wait until the sale of General Motors' Opel unit is complete, and will then invite the losing bidder to make a bid for Volvo, so nothing is likely to happen for another three to four weeks.
  • Troubled banks protest. Regulators have escalated the number of banks put on probation with so-called memorandums of understanding. At least 285 banks have received memorandums so far this year, compared to 399 for all of last year. Some of the targeted banks are complaining that the regulators are being too harsh, since the memorandums of understanding can force banks to increase their capital, overhaul management or take other major steps, but regulators say a tougher stance now could prevent failure later on.
  • Southwest wants to reach new frontiers. Southwest Airlines (LUV) unexpectedly bid $113.6M in a bankruptcy-court auction for smaller carrier Frontier Airline Holdings, potentially setting the stage for a bidding war with Republic Airways Holdings, a holding company for three regional airlines which bid $108.75M. If Southwest is successful, it will boost its presence in the highly-competitive Denver market and give the airline its first international destinations, but will also raise questions about Southwest's ability to stick to its low-cost business model.
  • Pre, iPhone probe to focus on skipped markets. A probe into wireless phone contracts will focus on markets where Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Palm's (PALM) Pre are unavailable, with Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, asking whether such lack of availability is "consistent with broad consumer interests." The FCC will also investigate whether competition is hindered by exclusive agreements between phone makers and service providers.
  • No magic for Disney. Disney (DIS) failed to impress when it reported quarterly earnings yesterday (see details below), missing revenue expectations and narrowly beating earnings expectations on heavy cost-cutting. CEO Bob Iger told analysts that the company sees "signs of economic stabilization, but the pace and strength of the recovery remain uncertain." (Read Disney's earnings call transcript)
  • Delphi set to exit Ch. 11. Delphi won court approval to sell its assets to lenders and General Motors. The auto-parts supplier is now set to exit bankruptcy protection after nearly four years.
  • Jobless claims rise. Initial Jobless Claims came in at 584K, up 25K from a week ago (revised), and worse than the 575K consensus. Continuing claims fell 54K to 6.197M.

Earnings: Friday Before Open

  • American Electric Power Company (AEP): Q2 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $3.2B (-8.6%) vs. $3.63B. (PR)
  • Anglo American (AAUK): H1 net profit of $2.97B (-30.6%), well outpacing consensus of $859M. Revenue of $11.13B vs. $17.92B a year ago. Says it "expects demand to remain soft in the near term until developed countries begin economic recovery." (DJ)
  • AutoNation (AN): Q2 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $2.61B (-28.8%) vs. $2.8B. "Having weathered the storm, AutoNation remains in an excellent position to capitalize on dealer consolidation and the gradual recovery in industry volumes." (PR)
  • Calpine (CPN): Q2 EPS of -$0.16 vs. consensus of +$0.18. Revenue of $1.47B (-48%) vs. $1.72B. (PR)
  • Constellation Energy Group (CEG): Q2 EPS of $1.08 beats by $0.32. Revenue of $3.86B (-18.8%) vs. $3.57B. Sees full-year EPS of $3.10-3.30 vs. $3.01 consensus. (PR)
  • ITT Industries (ITT): Q2 EPS of $1.06 beats by $0.26. Revenue of $2.78B (-9.3%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $3.50-3.70 vs. $3.44 consensus. (PR)
  • Snap-On (SNA): Q2 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $590M (-23%) in-line. (PR)
  • Total (TOT): Q2 net profit of €2.17B, less than half of €4.73B last year. Adjusted profit of €1.72B (-54%), in line with consensus. Sales of €31.43B (-35%). European refining margins narrowed 69% from a year ago. (DJ)

Earnings: Thursday After Close

  • ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (ARIA): Q2 EPS of -$0.24 beats by $0.01. Licensing and collaboration revenue of $2.1M. (PR)
  • Ariba (ARBA): FQ3 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $84M (-1%) in-line. (PR)
  • Arris Group (ARRS): Q2 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $279M (-1%) vs. $281M. (PR)
  • BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN): Q2 EPS of $0.09 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $83M (+29%) vs. $78M. (PR)
  • Camden Property Trust (CPT): Q2 FFO of $0.78 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $157M (+1%) vs. $141M. (PR)
  • Community Health Systems (CYH): Q2 EPS of $0.66 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $3B (+13%) in-line. (PR)
  • Disney (DIS): FQ3 EPS of $0.52 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $8.6B (-7%) vs. $8.8B. (PR)
  • DryShips (DRYS): Q2 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $210M (-30%) vs. $204M. (PR)
  • DTE Energy Company (DTE): Q2 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.41. Revenue of $1.7B (-25%) vs. $2B. (PR)
  • Dun & Bradstreet (DNB): Q2 EPS of $1.21 in-line. Revenue of $417M (+1%) vs. $425M. Issues downside full-year EPS guidance, to up 1-5% from up 9-12%. Lowers full-year revenue guidance to -1% to +1%, from +2-5%. (PR)
  • Evergreen Solar (ESLR): Q2 EPS of -$0.11 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $64M (+180%) vs. $63M. (PR)
  • Exelixis (EXEL): Q2 EPS of -$0.42 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $27.4M (-10%) vs. $33.4M. (PR)
  • First Solar (FSLR): Q2 EPS of $2.11 beats by $0.49. Revenue of $526M (+97%) vs. $459M. (PR)
  • Genworth Financial (GNW): Q2 EPS of -$0.11 misses by $0.27. Revenue of $2.5B (+4%) vs. $2.6B. (PR)
  • Geron (GERN): Q2 EPS of -$0.23 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $183,000 (-8%) vs. $800,000. (PR)
  • Harmonic (HLIT): Q2 EPS of $0.03 in-line. Revenue of $81M (-9%) vs. $75M. (PR)
  • HLTH Corp. (HLTH): Q2 EPS of $0.04 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $99M (+15%) in-line. (PR)
  • Ingram Micro (IM): Q2 EPS of $0.15 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $6.6B (-25%) vs. $6.7B. (PR)
  • Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Q2 EPS of $0.01 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.1B (-5%) in-line. (PR)
  • McAfee (MFE): Q2 EPS of $0.60 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $469M (+18%) vs. $467M. (PR)
  • MetLife (MET): Q2 EPS of $0.88 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $8.4B (+4%) vs. $11.7B. (PR)
  • Mohawk Industries (MHK): Q2 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $1.4B (-24%) in-line. Ex-restructuring charge EPS of $0.79. (PR)
  • Monster Worldwide (MWW): Q2 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $223M (-37%) vs. $225M. (PR)
  • PDL BioPharma (PDLI): Q2 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $126M (+18%) vs. $124M. Sees full-year revenue of $310M-325M vs. $331M. (PR)
  • PerkinElmer (PKI): Q2 EPS of $0.28 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $435M (-14%) vs. $460M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.18-1.22 vs. $1.27. (PR)
  • Pitney Bowes (PBI): Q2 EPS of $0.55 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $1.38B (-13%) vs. $1.43B. Sees full-year EPS of $2.15-2.35 vs. $2.46. (PR)
  • Silver Wheaton (SLW): Q2 EPS of $0.06 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $41M (-17%) vs. $53M. (PR)
  • Southwestern Energy Company (SWN): Q2 EPS of $0.35 in-line. Revenue of $478M (-21%) vs. $387M. Cuts full-year production view to 278-288 Bcfe from 289-292 Bcfe. (PR)
  • Stone Energy (SGY): Q2 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.48. Revenue of $263M (-35%) vs. $129M. (PR)
  • Synaptics (SYNA): FQ4 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $115M (+19%) vs. $112M. Announces retirement of CEO Francis Lee, succeeded by Thomas Tiernan. (PR)
  • Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates (VSEA): FQ3 EPS of -$0.20 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $73M (-60%) vs. $69M. (PR)
  • Vistaprint (VPRT): FQ4 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $135M (+22%) vs. $128M. Sees Q1 EPS of $0.32-0.35 vs. $0.40. (PR)
  • Weingarten Realty Investors (WRI): Q2 FFO of $0.61 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $147M (-4%) vs. $144M. (PR)
  • YRC Worldwide (YRCW): Q2 EPS of -$3.53 misses by $1.82. Revenue of $1.3B (-45%) vs. $1.6B. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asia markets were broadly higher Friday, Europe is mixed, and futures are up from yesterday's close.

]]> Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:14:50 -0400 SA Editor Rachael Granby

  • Bank bonus bonanza. The bonuses paid out to executives at nine banks that received government bailouts exceeded the net income of some of the banks, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, substantially so at Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). Cuomo said employee pay "has become unmoored from the banks' financial performance," and that there is "no clear rhyme or reason to the way banks compensate and reward their employees." Even during what was arguably one of Wall Street's worst years in memory, nearly 5,000 bankers and traders received a bonus above $1M. (Read Cuomo's report (.pdf))
  • Uncertain future for bank pay bill. Following the release of Cuomo's damning bonus report (see above), the House of Representatives will likely approve a bill requiring regulators to ban compensation practices that encourage 'inappropriate risks.' The Senate, however, and the White House are less enthusiastic about the measure, concerned it may give regulators too great a say on incentive pay.
  • Cash for clunkers grinds to a halt. The government has suspended its 'cash for clunkers' program just six days after it started. Meant to encourage new car purchases, the $1B program turned out to be far more popular than expected and has already run through its entire budget, blowing away lawmakers' estimates that the funds would last until November. Lawmakers are pushing for additional funding to help meet the program's larger-than-expected demand.
  • Ford stalls Volvo bidding. Ford has reportedly slowed down the bidding process for Volvo in an attempt to secure a better price for the unit. Ford apparently plans to wait until the sale of General Motors' Opel unit is complete, and will then invite the losing bidder to make a bid for Volvo, so nothing is likely to happen for another three to four weeks.
  • Troubled banks protest. Regulators have escalated the number of banks put on probation with so-called memorandums of understanding. At least 285 banks have received memorandums so far this year, compared to 399 for all of last year. Some of the targeted banks are complaining that the regulators are being too harsh, since the memorandums of understanding can force banks to increase their capital, overhaul management or take other major steps, but regulators say a tougher stance now could prevent failure later on.
  • Southwest wants to reach new frontiers. Southwest Airlines (LUV) unexpectedly bid $113.6M in a bankruptcy-court auction for smaller carrier Frontier Airline Holdings, potentially setting the stage for a bidding war with Republic Airways Holdings, a holding company for three regional airlines which bid $108.75M. If Southwest is successful, it will boost its presence in the highly-competitive Denver market and give the airline its first international destinations, but will also raise questions about Southwest's ability to stick to its low-cost business model.
  • Pre, iPhone probe to focus on skipped markets. A probe into wireless phone contracts will focus on markets where Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Palm's (PALM) Pre are unavailable, with Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, asking whether such lack of availability is "consistent with broad consumer interests." The FCC will also investigate whether competition is hindered by exclusive agreements between phone makers and service providers.
  • No magic for Disney. Disney (DIS) failed to impress when it reported quarterly earnings yesterday (see details below), missing revenue expectations and narrowly beating earnings expectations on heavy cost-cutting. CEO Bob Iger told analysts that the company sees "signs of economic stabilization, but the pace and strength of the recovery remain uncertain." (Read Disney's earnings call transcript)
  • Delphi set to exit Ch. 11. Delphi won court approval to sell its assets to lenders and General Motors. The auto-parts supplier is now set to exit bankruptcy protection after nearly four years.
  • Jobless claims rise. Initial Jobless Claims came in at 584K, up 25K from a week ago (revised), and worse than the 575K consensus. Continuing claims fell 54K to 6.197M.

Earnings: Friday Before Open

  • American Electric Power Company (AEP): Q2 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $3.2B (-8.6%) vs. $3.63B. (PR)
  • Anglo American (AAUK): H1 net profit of $2.97B (-30.6%), well outpacing consensus of $859M. Revenue of $11.13B vs. $17.92B a year ago. Says it "expects demand to remain soft in the near term until developed countries begin economic recovery." (DJ)
  • AutoNation (AN): Q2 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $2.61B (-28.8%) vs. $2.8B. "Having weathered the storm, AutoNation remains in an excellent position to capitalize on dealer consolidation and the gradual recovery in industry volumes." (PR)
  • Calpine (CPN): Q2 EPS of -$0.16 vs. consensus of +$0.18. Revenue of $1.47B (-48%) vs. $1.72B. (PR)
  • Constellation Energy Group (CEG): Q2 EPS of $1.08 beats by $0.32. Revenue of $3.86B (-18.8%) vs. $3.57B. Sees full-year EPS of $3.10-3.30 vs. $3.01 consensus. (PR)
  • ITT Industries (ITT): Q2 EPS of $1.06 beats by $0.26. Revenue of $2.78B (-9.3%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $3.50-3.70 vs. $3.44 consensus. (PR)
  • Snap-On (SNA): Q2 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $590M (-23%) in-line. (PR)
  • Total (TOT): Q2 net profit of €2.17B, less than half of €4.73B last year. Adjusted profit of €1.72B (-54%), in line with consensus. Sales of €31.43B (-35%). European refining margins narrowed 69% from a year ago. (DJ)

Earnings: Thursday After Close

  • ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (ARIA): Q2 EPS of -$0.24 beats by $0.01. Licensing and collaboration revenue of $2.1M. (PR)
  • Ariba (ARBA): FQ3 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $84M (-1%) in-line. (PR)
  • Arris Group (ARRS): Q2 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $279M (-1%) vs. $281M. (PR)
  • BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN): Q2 EPS of $0.09 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $83M (+29%) vs. $78M. (PR)
  • Camden Property Trust (CPT): Q2 FFO of $0.78 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $157M (+1%) vs. $141M. (PR)
  • Community Health Systems (CYH): Q2 EPS of $0.66 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $3B (+13%) in-line. (PR)
  • Disney (DIS): FQ3 EPS of $0.52 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $8.6B (-7%) vs. $8.8B. (PR)
  • DryShips (DRYS): Q2 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $210M (-30%) vs. $204M. (PR)
  • DTE Energy Company (DTE): Q2 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.41. Revenue of $1.7B (-25%) vs. $2B. (PR)
  • Dun & Bradstreet (DNB): Q2 EPS of $1.21 in-line. Revenue of $417M (+1%) vs. $425M. Issues downside full-year EPS guidance, to up 1-5% from up 9-12%. Lowers full-year revenue guidance to -1% to +1%, from +2-5%. (PR)
  • Evergreen Solar (ESLR): Q2 EPS of -$0.11 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $64M (+180%) vs. $63M. (PR)
  • Exelixis (EXEL): Q2 EPS of -$0.42 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $27.4M (-10%) vs. $33.4M. (PR)
  • First Solar (FSLR): Q2 EPS of $2.11 beats by $0.49. Revenue of $526M (+97%) vs. $459M. (PR)
  • Genworth Financial (GNW): Q2 EPS of -$0.11 misses by $0.27. Revenue of $2.5B (+4%) vs. $2.6B. (PR)
  • Geron (GERN): Q2 EPS of -$0.23 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $183,000 (-8%) vs. $800,000. (PR)
  • Harmonic (HLIT): Q2 EPS of $0.03 in-line. Revenue of $81M (-9%) vs. $75M. (PR)
  • HLTH Corp. (HLTH): Q2 EPS of $0.04 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $99M (+15%) in-line. (PR)
  • Ingram Micro (IM): Q2 EPS of $0.15 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $6.6B (-25%) vs. $6.7B. (PR)
  • Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Q2 EPS of $0.01 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.1B (-5%) in-line. (PR)
  • McAfee (MFE): Q2 EPS of $0.60 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $469M (+18%) vs. $467M. (PR)
  • MetLife (MET): Q2 EPS of $0.88 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $8.4B (+4%) vs. $11.7B. (PR)
  • Mohawk Industries (MHK): Q2 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $1.4B (-24%) in-line. Ex-restructuring charge EPS of $0.79. (PR)
  • Monster Worldwide (MWW): Q2 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $223M (-37%) vs. $225M. (PR)
  • PDL BioPharma (PDLI): Q2 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $126M (+18%) vs. $124M. Sees full-year revenue of $310M-325M vs. $331M. (PR)
  • PerkinElmer (PKI): Q2 EPS of $0.28 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $435M (-14%) vs. $460M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.18-1.22 vs. $1.27. (PR)
  • Pitney Bowes (PBI): Q2 EPS of $0.55 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $1.38B (-13%) vs. $1.43B. Sees full-year EPS of $2.15-2.35 vs. $2.46. (PR)
  • Silver Wheaton (SLW): Q2 EPS of $0.06 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $41M (-17%) vs. $53M. (PR)
  • Southwestern Energy Company (SWN): Q2 EPS of $0.35 in-line. Revenue of $478M (-21%) vs. $387M. Cuts full-year production view to 278-288 Bcfe from 289-292 Bcfe. (PR)
  • Stone Energy (SGY): Q2 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.48. Revenue of $263M (-35%) vs. $129M. (PR)
  • Synaptics (SYNA): FQ4 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $115M (+19%) vs. $112M. Announces retirement of CEO Francis Lee, succeeded by Thomas Tiernan. (PR)
  • Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates (VSEA): FQ3 EPS of -$0.20 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $73M (-60%) vs. $69M. (PR)
  • Vistaprint (VPRT): FQ4 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $135M (+22%) vs. $128M. Sees Q1 EPS of $0.32-0.35 vs. $0.40. (PR)
  • Weingarten Realty Investors (WRI): Q2 FFO of $0.61 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $147M (-4%) vs. $144M. (PR)
  • YRC Worldwide (YRCW): Q2 EPS of -$3.53 misses by $1.82. Revenue of $1.3B (-45%) vs. $1.6B. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asia markets were broadly higher Friday, Europe is mixed, and futures are up from yesterday's close.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL AAUKY.PK AEP AN ARBA ARIA ARRS BMRN CEG CPN CPT CYH DIA DIS DNB DRYS DTE ESLR EXEL FSLR GERN GLD GNW GS HLIT HLTH IM ITT JPM LUV LVS MET MFE MHK MS MWW PALM PBI PDLI PKI QQQQ SGY SLW SNA SPY SWN SYNA TOT USO VPRT VSEA WRI YRCW SA Editor Rachael Granby Evergreen Solar Inc. Q2 2009 Earnings Call Transcript http://seekingalpha.com/article/152705-evergreen-solar-inc-q2-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed 152705 Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR)

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 30, 2009 05:00 pm ET

]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:18:12 -0400 Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR)

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 30, 2009 05:00 pm ET


Complete Story »]]> ESLR Four Problems Facing Solar Power Companies http://seekingalpha.com/article/151572-four-problems-facing-solar-power-companies?source=feed 151572 We see at least four structural problems facing existing public solar power companies:

  1. There is risk that some new entrant will leapfrog them by developing a better, disruptive technology.
  2. Solar energy has to compete with the memory chip industry for its raw semiconducting materials, which, much like corn, gasoline and ethanol, breaks the link between input cost and selling price.
  3. Competition comes not just from other producers of solar energy, but from other producers of electricity from other alternatives and conventional sources. On a LCOE basis, solar will usually lose on pure economics. Thus,
  4. Demand is heavily reliant on subsidies that will inevitably be reduced or phased out.

Solar produced energy, ultimately, is highly compelling, given it is the shortest path to useable power, provided it can continue to lower costs significantly; there are plenty of other reasons to like solar which we don’t need to list as they are well known. Also, it is competitive now in some marginal situations (locations with very high insolation, very high costs of grid-based electricity, very high subsidies), but valuations suggest investors anticipate far larger markets. Something we don’t predict will be seen from the current set of public solar companies.

]]> Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:09:28 -0400 E4 Capital We see at least four structural problems facing existing public solar power companies:

  1. There is risk that some new entrant will leapfrog them by developing a better, disruptive technology.
  2. Solar energy has to compete with the memory chip industry for its raw semiconducting materials, which, much like corn, gasoline and ethanol, breaks the link between input cost and selling price.
  3. Competition comes not just from other producers of solar energy, but from other producers of electricity from other alternatives and conventional sources. On a LCOE basis, solar will usually lose on pure economics. Thus,
  4. Demand is heavily reliant on subsidies that will inevitably be reduced or phased out.

Solar produced energy, ultimately, is highly compelling, given it is the shortest path to useable power, provided it can continue to lower costs significantly; there are plenty of other reasons to like solar which we don’t need to list as they are well known. Also, it is competitive now in some marginal situations (locations with very high insolation, very high costs of grid-based electricity, very high subsidies), but valuations suggest investors anticipate far larger markets. Something we don’t predict will be seen from the current set of public solar companies.


Complete Story »]]> CSIQ ESLR FSLR SPWRA STP YGE E4 Capital Short Interest on Nasdaq: Why the Data Delay? http://seekingalpha.com/article/151331-short-interest-on-nasdaq-why-the-data-delay?source=feed 151331 On Friday, Reuters reported short interest on the Nasdaq rose 4.1% in mid-July, reflecting an increase in bearish sentiment in the stock market.

Below are data and charts for the five Nasdaq stocks that experienced the largest increases and decreases in their short positions in the first half of July. Also included are data and a chart for the five largest NASDAQ short positions as of July 15, 2009.

]]> Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:12:47 -0400 Kirk Lindstrom Kirk Lindstrom submits:

On Friday, Reuters reported short interest on the Nasdaq rose 4.1% in mid-July, reflecting an increase in bearish sentiment in the stock market.

Below are data and charts for the five Nasdaq stocks that experienced the largest increases and decreases in their short positions in the first half of July. Also included are data and a chart for the five largest NASDAQ short positions as of July 15, 2009.


Complete Story »]]> AMAT CTIC ESLR ETFC INTC LVLT MSFT SANM SBUX SIRI Kirk Lindstrom Moore's Law for the Solar Market http://seekingalpha.com/article/148268-moore-s-law-for-the-solar-market?source=feed 148268 Several people (myself included) have posited that alternative energy won't likely have its own Moore's Law, the phenomenon in the chip market that lets things get cheaper, smaller and better over time.

It looks like the critics might be wrong.

]]> Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:47:49 -0400 Greentech Media Greentech Media submits:

Several people (myself included) have posited that alternative energy won't likely have its own Moore's Law, the phenomenon in the chip market that lets things get cheaper, smaller and better over time.

It looks like the critics might be wrong.


Complete Story »]]> AMAT APSO.OB ESLR LDK SOL TSL YGE Greentech Media Closing Update for July 2 http://seekingalpha.com/article/146816-closing-update-for-july-2?source=feed 146816 -NYSE down 177.3 (2.9%) to 5,776.76.

-DJIA down 223.3 (2.6%) to 8,281.

-S&P 500 down 26.8 (2.9%) to 896.54.

]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:36:47 -0400 Midnight Trader Brooks McFeely submits:

-NYSE down 177.3 (2.9%) to 5,776.76.

-DJIA down 223.3 (2.6%) to 8,281.

-S&P 500 down 26.8 (2.9%) to 896.54.


Complete Story »]]> ACUR CAL CEO CSCO DAL ELN ESLR EXC FCSX FSR GST HRSH IAAC ILMN IPCR JNJ MANH MESA NRG RAD TIVO VR WAG XLNX Midnight Trader