Alternative Energy

Trader Mark submits:It's amazing what the right type of leadership (our country could take note) does for a company. After being a long-lost laggard, the focus on business execution over science continues to benefit  Energy Conversion Devices (ENER). Another very good earnings report, and while the stock valuation is in the stratosphere we don't worry about things like that any more - when companies trading at 10x PE for 100% growth are ignored, yet companies at 80x PE are run up, all that matters are charts. And ENER's has been fantastic for many months. We do, however, want to see a break over that mid June high of $82.50 - otherwise we could be forming quite the "double top" Read more »

Kelvin Schulle submits:Solarfun Power (SOLF) reported a sound quarter on Wednesday, and the stock price dove 12%. Looking into the earning report carefully, Q2 was really a great one. Solarfun reported second-quarter net income of $11.4 million, or 23 cents per American depository share. Revenue came in at $197.1 million. Photovoltaic module shipments reached 43.1 MW in the second quarter, an increase of 162 percent from a year ago. The company guided 2008 shipments of 175-190 MW from previous 160-180 MW.[Click here for Solarfun's 2Q conference call transcript on Seeking Alpha.]Complete Story »

Eddy Lahens submits:Stating that the ethanol business is a challenge is an understatement! But could it be that a cross-over operating point is at hand at Pacific Ethanol (PEIX)?3Q Operating profile:Complete Story »

John Cordes submits:Chinese solar companies are beset with undervaluation and undecipherable volatility in spite of amazing growth in sales, net income and future contract commitments. It even seems irrational to many amateur investors, who can't determine the logic for comparative valuation to stocks like First Solar (FSLR) and SunPower (SPWR). The overwhelming theme of most submissions to Seeking Alpha is, "what's up - why the movement?" Even professional analysts appear confused with conflicting assessments and frequent reversals.The obvious answer is: It is irrational. But it's also predictably irrational. Much like oil futures. Demand decreases, production increases, yet prices increase on rumor, while the same rumor one week later produces no effect. For example, both are cited as being driven by value of the dollar. Did the dollar go up 6% yesterday? That doesn't account for the sell off levels. Read more »

Zachary Scheidt submits:
GT Solar International, Inc. (SOLR) reported earnings after the close Tuesday.  This was the company’s first earnings announcement since becoming a public company on July 24th.  The numbers looked very attractive with the company realizing revenues of $57.1 million, good for a 171% increase over the same quarter last year.  Net income was $5.1 million compared to a loss of $5 million last year and this equates to earnings per share of $0.03.  Gross margins were also strong coming in at 42.6% versus margins of 34.7% last year.  Read more »

Matt Cooper (Portfolio.com) submits: T. Boone Pickens is here [at the site of the Democratic Convention]. I saw him at The Big Tent, the venue sponsored by Google (GOOG) and Digg, and the base camp for many of the bloggers at the convention. The billionaire repeated the basics of his "Pickens Plan" to promote natural gas and wind power to wean America off of foreign oil. Read more »

Eric Savitz (Barron's) submits: Solarfun (SOLF) shares are down sharply this morning despite better than expected Q2 results.  Read more »

Eric Savitz (Barron's) submits: I’m not at all sure if there’s a catalyst for this, but China-based solar stocks  suffered a fairly substantial sell off today. See for yourself:Complete Story »

Tim Plaehn submits: I have come across a couple of interesting news items recently that point towards continued viability and growth for the U.S. ethanol industry. As I have written in the past, I believe the U.S. corn based ethanol industry will grow as a viable part of the country’s vehicle fuel structure. The current environment of high corn prices is pushing these companies towards efficiency and innovation. The ground work they are laying now will lead to increased profitability as ethanol becomes a larger portion of total fuel consumption. Read more »

Tom Konrad (AltEnergyStocks) submits: I have more ideas than I have time to explore them, and it's getting out of hand.  I still need to write the promised articles on Evergreen Solar (ESLR) and Lithium Technology Corp (LTHU), but there are many others that have caught my attention over the last six months or so.  Since the list keeps getting longer, I thought I'd just give you a taste of some of the companies in my inbox, and why they seem interesting.  Since I may or may not ever write articles about any of these, I thought I'd give people the opportunity to evaluate the companies for themselves. Read more »

 By Mark Henwood Emerging markets, EAFA, and the US market (S&P 500) were little changed on the week, commodities (DJP) rose 2.8%. Sustainable energy stocks created some excitement but overall were mixed:Complete Story »

Kamal Ahuja submits:IntroductionThere is a considerable amount of talk in investment and research communities these days about the cost of solar power generation.  Even though the cost of solar power today from sources such as photovoltaic [PV] and solar thermal is more expensive than traditional forms of power generation utilizing resources such as coal and natural gas, many believe that in the long term solar power will achieve cost parity with traditional forms of grid power.  For the reasons stated below, I believe that solar power generation is on track to achieve grid parity in the next few years without the consideration of any government subsidies.Complete Story »

Mike Havrilla submits:click to enlargeComplete Story »

Michael Filloon submits: In a very short period of time, we have seen the spot price of uranium drop by over 50% after massive speculation had pushed the price up. There was a time when uranium producers could barely make a profit, as only those companies with high grade uranium could sell for a profit. Uranium producers were among the agricultural companies as they had trouble breaking even. With countries like China leading the way, and current countries like Japan and France showing the viability in the market, these companies could see a great profit going forward. Read more »

Phillip Lyon submits:Beacon Power (BCON) is my top stock pick for 2008. Beacon Power is on the verge of commercializing its “flywheel” technology and the company has a ton of positive catalysts going forward. I think this stock could very easily be a multibagger. Read more »

Tom Lydon (ETF Trends) submits: Solar Industry, ETF Prospects Shine As More Adopt Alternative Technology Solar company LDK (LDK) predicts it will put up numbers this year that could shine a light on ETFs. The company offered an upbeat 2009 revenue outlook, because its expansion of wafer production is ahead of schedule, according to the Associated Press. Analysts expect its full-year revenue to hit $2.43 billion next year.Complete Story »

Tom Lydon (ETF Trends) submits: Solar Industry, ETF Prospects Shine As More Adopt Alternative Technology Solar company LDK (LDK) predicts it will put up numbers this year that could shine a light on ETFs. The company offered an upbeat 2009 revenue outlook, because its expansion of wafer production is ahead of schedule, according to the Associated Press. Analysts expect its full-year revenue to hit $2.43 billion next year.Complete Story »

Trader Mark submits:A-Power Energy Generation (APWR) will disappoint the "momentum" crowd today as it simply reported in line numbers for its quarter and did not raise guidance any further. So I'd expect a rash of them to exit to move on to the next gamble Tuesday morning. Read more »

John Petersen submits:Alternative energy investing is a strange beast. Investor attention ebbs and flows with amazing speed as folks frantically scurry from one "holy grail" to the next in the hope that they'll be the first to identify the next best solution to the looming fossil fuel crisis. I'm convinced that energy storage will be the next big alternative energy investment sector.But if I've learned anything over the last five years, it's that there is no holy grail in energy storage because there is such an incredible diversity of current and developing needs. In simple terms, investing in energy storage technology is like investing in shoes. You need to find something that fits well, is priced right and is built for the work that you plan to do. If you don't shop smart, the bad choices can be crippling. Read more »