Wells Fargo covering Solar Stocks

An analyst at Wells Fargo initiated coverage on a group of stocks in the Solar space earlier today:

ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) with an Outperform rating and a $9.50-$12 valuation range. Calls ReneSola a "big beneficiary of 2010 demand trends," mainly wafer pricing, margins and protection from its OEM segment if the market turns lower. Shares of ReneSola are down more than 5% today, last trading around $7.06.

Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF) with an Outperform rating and a $10-$12.50 valuation range. The firm notes that the company has been historically unappreciated, however, "with a new management team and an improving cost structure, we believe SOLF is leaving the penalty box." Wells Fargo argues that Solarfun has "one of the best risk-reward profiles in the group..." The firm expects Solarfun to report FY10 EPS of $0.92. Solarfun shares are one of the few solar stocks holding onto positive territory today, last trading up 0.5% to $8.39.

Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) with a Market Perform rating and a $11.50-$14.50 valuation range. The firm said it would like to be more positive on Yingli given that the company boasts a "industry-leading cost structure," however, the FY10 outlook looks to be "already among the most optimistic in the group..." Wells Fargo also believes that the recent polysilicon plant adds risk and that the balance sheet needs cleaning-up. The firm is currently looking for Yingli to report FY10 EPS of $0.94. Shares of Yingli are down 3.1% to $11.87.

Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) with a Market Perform rating and a $18-$23 valuation range. Wells Fargo says exchange rate headwinds and firmer input pricing could be issues for Canadian Solar in the first half of this year. "While H2 comparisons and earnings improvement are pluses, revenue growth and margin structure remain in flux, forcing the company to choose between market share and profits." The firm is looking for Canadian Solar to report FY10 EPS of $1.34. CSIQ shares are up 0.3% to $16.90 today.

Suntech (NYSE: STP) with a Market Perform rating and a $11-$14 valuation range. Wells says "Suntech has one of the best brands in the industry, but we believe the company needs to revamp its cost structure and improve corporate governance, notably its relationship with Global Solar Fund (GSF); Suntech has a high ownership stake in this entity but does not consolidate results. Valuation of 17x 2010E EPS vs. the peer group near 15x leaves little room for stock appreciation, in our view." Shares of Suntech are down 3.2% to $12.62 today.

Source: streetinsider.com

Labels: CSIQ, SOL, solar analysis, Solar Stocks, SOLF, STP, YGE

posted by Ertai at 2:31 PM