Earnings and Yieldco News Driving Solar Stocks Higher and Higher

Energy

Published: March 5, 2015 4:01 pm

Solar stocks have been on a tear of late. The news is not just earnings. It is not just low energy prices not being as bad as some investors may have feared. The other driving force is the so-called YieldCo ambitions of the solar companies. 24/7 Wall St. wanted to take a look at the powerful moves that have been seen in the sector.

Wednesday after the markets closed, Vivint Solar, Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $0.36 per share on $6.86 million in revenue which came in over the top of Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of a net loss of $0.37 per share and $6.01 million in revenue.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, Vivint stated its outlook. The solar power company expects 40 to 42 Megawatts (MW) installed, total revenue in the range of $8 million to $8.5 million, and total operational expenses in the range of $47 million to $50 million. There are consensus estimates calling for a net loss of $0.45 per share and $8.73 million in revenue in the first quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Vivint booked roughly 52 MW’s, up 150% compared against the fourth quarter of the previous year. At the same time about 50 MW’s were installed, an increase of 191%. Installations numbered 6,864 for the quarter, up 135%. Total cumulative MWs installed reached approximately 228 MWs as of the end of December 2014.

Shares of Vivint were up a whopping 33% at $11.15 in the last hour of Thursday’s trading session. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $19.80 and a post-IPO trading range of $7.42 to $18.71.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) recently announced its earnings and its guidance for the year. Its earnings came out as $1.28 per share on $956.2 million in revenues. For the full year 2015, the Company expects total module shipments to be in the range of approximately 4.0 GW to 4.3 GW, including 3,300MW to 3,500 MW of third-party module sales, 235 MW to 275 WW of project and EPC sales, and 460 MW to 490 MW of shipments to projects which will be held on the balance sheet pending the launch of a YieldCo vehicle.

Shares of Canadian Solar were up 15% at $34.65. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $43.33 and a 52-week trading range of $18.68 to $41.37.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) made a joint announcement that they would explore a YieldCo, as a result the stocks rallied massively on the news, Nonetheless shares are now higher than when this was originally announced. First Solar shares have risen every day except for one since this announcement.

Shares of First Solar were up 0.8% at $61.66. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $63.15 and a 52-week trading range of $39.18.

Shares of SunPower were up 1.5% at $33.65. the stock has a consensus analyst price target of $41.08 and a 52-week trading range of $22.75 to $42.07.

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