One of the sneaky tricks that politicians and lawmakers pull when crafting legislation is sticking in other items, some of which are pet projects for constituents, into large pieces of legislation. One of those items was in the new broader tax bill that passed late last year. Tax credits for wind and solar clean energy were extended another five years, an item that is big for some of the top companies doing business here. Combine that tasty tidbit, with the fact that there has been some solid momentum in the sector, and the opportunity could be good for aggressive investors.
A new research report from Deutsche Bank notes that while the industry and the top stocks are exhibiting generally solid fundamentals, the stocks have posted mixed results during the fourth-quarter reporting season. That aside, the analysts expect continued outperformance from the top stocks in the firm’s coverage universe. Four are rated Buy, but one is extremely speculative, so we focused on the three larger cap companies.
SunPower
This company is adding capacity at a breakneck pace and plays into the overall potential climate change theme. SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) and First Solar jointly formed a publicly traded yield company (yieldco) and many on Wall Street think that it is uniquely positioned as a solar-only yieldco with joint sponsorships by two of the largest solar developers in the world.
SunPower 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.
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Other Wall Street analysts have noted that company management expects to add significant production capacity, including a new 800 megawatt fab that will target 25% cell efficiency. This will allow the company to leverage the high-efficiency technology and low-cost financing to expand on projects around the world.
Deutsche Bank’s price objective for the stock is $37, while the Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $35.37. The stock closed trading on Monday at $23.62, up almost 4.5% on the day.
First Solar
This is another top stock that has been on a huge run since hitting lows last fall. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) operates through two segments. The Components segment designs, manufactures and sells solar modules, such as CdTe modules that convert sunlight into electricity for project developers, system integrators and operators of photovoltaic (PV) solar power systems.
The Systems segment provides turnkey PV solar power systems or solar solutions, such as project development; engineering, procurement and construction; operating and maintenance; and project finance services to investor-owned utilities, independent power developers and producers, commercial and industrial companies, and PV solar power system owners.
Fourth-quarter earnings handily surpassed the Wall Street consensus estimate. While revenues for the quarter dropped 6.5% year over year, the top line surpassed the consensus expectations as well.
Deutsche Bank has a $86 price objective, and the consensus target is lower at $77.11. The shares closed trading on Monday at $71.87.
SolarCity
This stock has been on a roll and could continue to spike higher. 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 in 2015 and beyond. With many long-term contracts providing visibility into future cash flows, the company is a top name for risk-tolerant investors to own.
While some on Wall Street feel that the company’s cost of funding may be higher going forward, it will remain below the 6% residual value calculations considered key, and the Deutsche Bank team feel that current valuations are a compelling reason to own the stock.
The stock has been absolutely crushed over the past 60 days. Elon Musk, who is the chairman and owns 8.8% of the shares and helped start the company, is often considered by Wall Street as a leading force behind future direction.
The Deutsche Bank price target is posted at $49. The consensus target is $45.94. The shares closed Monday at $18.43.
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Investors should be careful in selection and remember these stocks are still only suitable for very aggressive accounts with high risk tolerance. With that in mind, short sellers have hammered each one of these hard, but with fundamentals improving and demand still big, any positive move higher also could create a sizable short squeeze.
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