by Tiernan Ray, Blogger, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
The solar technology industry may report a stronger-than-expected third quarter but could face disappointment in subsequent quarters, warns Hapoalim Securities analyst Gordon Johnson in a note to clients today. Johnson says that his checks suggest demand for photovoltaic modules in Germany has been better than expected, raising the prospect that solar tech makers could demonstrate better sales growth and margins than expiated when they report the September quarter.
by Tiernan Ray, Blogger, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
It was a strange quarter for solar panel maker First Solar last night. The company reiterated its forecast for 2009 revenue, which was probably expected, but it also beat Q2 revenue, leaving some disappointed with the lack of upside for the rest of the year.
by Tiernan Ray, Blogger, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
Shares of solar panel technology maker First Solar (FSLR) are reversing course this evening, falling to $170 after briefly going as high as $189 following a clean Q2 beat. What’s spooked people are the company’s remarks on a conference call this evening about growing uncertainty in its German market.
by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
It’s a nice day for the solar sector, which is getting a boost from a flurry of analyst comments following the recently completed Intersolar trade show in Munich.
“By the end of Intersolar, we sensed growing, albeit cautious optimism,” Cowen’s Robert Stone writes in a research note this morning.
by Mark Milian, Intern and Technology Blog Contributor
Alone in a room in his home in Bonn, Germany, Friedhelm Hillebrand sat at his typewriter, tapping out random sentences and questions on a sheet of paper.
by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
Cowen analyst Robert Stone this morning cut estimates for the solar sector across the board, asserting that Street estimates for at least the first half of 2009 are too high, and there could be further downside if project credit conditions do not improve. Project financing seems to be the issue rather than the cost of individual panels.
by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
Have things gotten that bad in the solar industry? Something has prompted Germany’s SolarWorld to state its intention of offering one billion Euros to acquire four production plants and one headquarters currently owned and operated by the Opel division of General Motors. The goal? To create Europe’s first “green” car company and–presumably–sell enough electric and hybrid cars to offset the dismal margins of the company’s core solar business. One would think there’d be other fish to fry.
by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
Solar stocks are trading sharply lower this morning after Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Molnar declared he has become cautious on the solar group, “as less generous subsidies combined with a wave of supply pose a real risk.”
by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron\'s, Tech Trader Daily
Sunshine is free. Solar modules are not. But they are getting cheaper: UBS analyst Stephen Chin today revised his forecast for solar module pricing to down 20 percent from a previous estimate of down 14 percent.
This is a section of the All Things Digital Web site featuring posts from around the Web, from other Dow Jones properties and also original pieces we solicit. The section is now explicitly labeled that it comes "from other Web sites."
We are fully aware of the controversies around how linking and aggregating is done on the Web and we, in no way, are attempting to "scrape" original content created by others. Instead, regarding third-party posts, we are trying to point readers of this site to other posts from around the Web that we admire and are trying to do so in the quickest manner possible.
The Internet is full of terrific content that is not ours and we want to help our readers find it by making editorial suggestions--Look, Mom, no algorithm!--of posts we think are worth their time.
That is why we have made even more changes to Voices to ensure we do this in the most transparent and timely way. While we don't expect that everyone will agree with our policies, we have made changes that reflect our intent in pointing to content outside our site.
Because the site is wholly owned by Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, we aim to adhere to the journalistic standards of the best of the mainstream media. But, because it is run autonomously as a small online startup, we aim to exhibit the fresh thinking and nimbleness of the best of the new media. We want to be first, and sassy, but also well sourced and accurate. We will offer lots of opinion and analysis, but plenty of fact as well.
