February 3, 2009 - American Superconductor (Nasdaq:AMSC) reported Q3 earnings that were slightly better than expected as management cited strong bookings for its D-VARreg; Smart Grid products, which represented more than 65% of total revenue: Key Financial Highlights middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Q3 loss of $7.8 million, or $0.18 per share, middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Q3 revenues of $41.3 million, up 27% Y/Y, but up only 2.4% sequentially, nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Power systems revenue was $38.2 million an increase of 7.5% over the prior quarter, while superconductor revenue slipped 36% to $3 million, middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Gross margins at 23.9%, down from 30.9% for the same period last year. This is the third straight quarter of gross margin compression, middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Backlog of $602 million,nbsp;nbsp; Guidancenbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Q4 guidance of GAAP profit middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; FY08 guidance ndash; revenue in range of $175 million to $182 million with net loss in range of $17 million to $18 million, or $0.40 to $0.42 per share. EBITDAS in range of ...

January 26, 2009 ndash; Suntech Power (NYSE:STP) has seen its stock decline to $8.87 on Fridayrsquo;s close from $11.80 at the outset of this yearrsquo;s trading session and from the $50 level this time last year. In the past couple months the stock has been seemingly downgraded by the world, which has been warranted in light of erosion in the companyrsquo;s near term outlook. On Friday, although management said revenues for the Q4 would come in higher than previously guided, the Street focused on downbeat margin guidance of -1% to 2% for the period due to an inventory and impairment charge resulting in one-time charges of about $100 million. The question at this point is whether all of the bad news has been priced into the stock. Our FY08 revenue expectations for the company are on the low end of guidance at $1.91 billion, and our income expectations are $86.9 ...

December 10, 2008 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Cowen amp; Companyrsquo;s Robert Stone weighed in this morning on several solar companies including Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq:HOKU), Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq:ESLR) and Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq:ASTI), downgrading each of the stocks to NEUTRAL. Here are his takeaways: Hoku (reduced from OUTPERFORM to NEUTRAL) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Prepayment delays and potential difficulty obtaining additional financing in 2009 may slow startup of poly plant; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Cut FY09, FY10 and FY11 revenue and earnings estimates based on slower ramp, lower ASPs and reduced GMs; Evergreen Solar (reduced from OUTPERFORM to NEUTRAL) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Uncertainty in the PV market increases Evergreenrsquo;s execution risk in its capacity ramps; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Concerns about increased expenses in the current environment which Evergreen will need to launch its string-ribbon technology; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Further capitalization in 2009 is going to be tough; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Cut FY09 modeling lower ASPs and reduced GMs; Ascent Solar (reduced from OUTPERFORM to NEUTRAL) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Weaker Euro ...

October 28, 2008 –Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq:ENER) has been one of the best performers, year-to-date amongst all of the solar companies. Even at yesterday’s $28.05 closing price, which puts it down 17% year-to-date, it still is. But the stock has pulled back remarkably from the $70 level which it was trading at in September, and the question is whether the stock is oversold, or if there is still more room to the downside.  ENER is a leading manufacturer of thin-film solar laminates that are flexible and durable, targeted at the commercial rooftop and building integrated PV (“BIPV”) markets. The business is in the process of expansion of production capacity to 1GW by 2012, from 118MW nameplate capacity at present. Highlights from most recent financial report   ·         Reported Q4 revenues of $82.4 million, up 18% sequentially from $70 million, and 129% Y/Y. Solar product revenues were $77 million, up 19% sequentially and 161% ...

September 30, 2008 – Several companies in the energy storage sector had blockbuster performance yesterday in spite of the fact that the DJIA closed down a record 777.68 and the Nasdaq, which closed down an astonishing 199.61. For example, Ballard Power (Nasdaq:BLDP) gained 18.34%, China Bak Battery (Nasdaq:CBAK) gained 7.14%, Ener1 Inc. (AMEX:HEV) gained 18.55%, Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq:MXWL) gained 10.86%, Mechanical Technology (Nasdaq:MKTY)  gained 23.01%, Quantum Fuel Systems (Nasdaq:QTWW) gained 35.51% and Valence Technology (Nasdaq:VLNC) gained 36.51%. We aren’t really sure why the group performed so well on such an historically dismal session on Wall Street, but we think it is worth bringing to our readers’ attention. In the group, stocks that we like the most are Quantum Fuel and UltraLife Batteries (Nasdaq:ULBI). Interestingly, UltraLife didn’t participate in yesterday’s rallies by so many of the energy storage group. Its stock fell $1.67, or 17%. The fundamentals for UltraLife remain positive, ...