With installations increasing 40% on a compounded annual basis, and residential 60%, the top solar stocks are a fantastic place for aggressive investors to deploy capital in 2015. The Merrill Lynch team is very positive on four stocks rated Buy at the firm.
SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) manufactures solar technology and develops, finances, installs and operates distributed solar power plants, delivering predictably priced electricity and services to its residential, commercial, government and utility customers. SunEdison also provides 24/7 asset management, monitoring and reporting services for hundreds of solar systems worldwide via the company’s Renewable Operation Center (ROC). SunEdison and its yieldco company, TerraForm Power, signed a definitive agreement in November to acquire First Wind for a total sum of $2.4 billion. Of this, SunEdison will pay $1.5 billion, while TerraForm will pay $862 million. The combined entity becomes one of the largest clean energy companies in the world.
The Merrill Lynch price target for the stock is $32. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $28.77. The stock closed Thursday at $19.02 a share.
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SunPower Corp.‘s (NASDAQ: SPWR) proximity to making a yieldco decision, which many Wall Street analysts think creates even more value for shareholders, is also a big part of the Merrill Lynch thesis. The company offers solar power products, including panels, balance of system components and inverters. It also designs, manufactures and sells high-performance rooftop and ground-mounted solar power systems, as well as utility-scale photovoltaic power plants. In addition, the company offers operations and maintenance services, including remote monitoring, preventative and corrective maintenance services, as well as rapid-response outage restoration and inverter repair services.
The Merrill Lynch price objective is $42, and the consensus is set at $39.13. The stock ended Thursday at $23.47.
SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) is a pure-play leader in the fast-growth, roof-top solar as a service market, and the analysts feel the company has a balance sheet that will support growth well into 2015. With many long-term contracts providing visibility into future cash flows, the company is a top name for risk-tolerant investors to own. While the Merrill Lynch team does point out that the cost of funding may be higher going forward, it will remain below the 6% residual value calculations considered key.
The Merrill Lynch price objective is a massive $95, and the consensus figure is lower at $87.70. Shares closed trading at $50.91, so either target is huge for investors stepping in now.
Vivint Solar Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) is a leading provider of distributed solar energy, which is electricity generated by a solar energy system installed at a customer’s location, to residential customers in the United States. Vivint Solar’s customers pay little to no money upfront, receive significant savings relative to utility generated electricity and continue to benefit from guaranteed energy prices over the 20-year term of their contracts. The company is the number two residential installer in the country, and it has seen its market share rise to 16% in the third quarter, from 13% in the second quarter.
The Merrill Lynch price target is a massive $24, and the consensus target is $19.50. Shares closed Thursday at just $8.
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With the tariff decisions at hand, and growing consumer awareness for the possibilities of solar, these stocks all make great sense for aggressive investors looking to add new positions for 2015 and beyond.
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