Opti Mist
13 years ago
(Reuters) - Solar equipment maker GT Solar International Inc on Wednesday reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and said its backlog of orders had risen to record levels, lifting its share price.
Net income for the fiscal first-quarter ended July 2 was $52.1 million, or 41 cents per share, compared with $16.5 million, or 11 cents per share, a year ago.
Wall Street analysts, on average, had been expecting earnings of 31 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose 71 percent to $231.1 million. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $225.98 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
GT Solar, which has booked a string of contract wins this year, said its backlog at the end of the quarter was $2.3 billion.
Shares rose 4.1 percent in post-market trading to $13.60.
(Reporting by Matt Daily and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Opti Mist
13 years ago
Short Sellers Hammer ‘Solarcoaster’ as Glut of Chinese Panels Sinks Prices
By Ben Sills - Jun 20, 2011 7:40 AM ET inShare0More
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The sun shines off of First Solar Inc. solar panels that form a one megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic array at Intel Corp.'s campus in Folsom, California, U.S. Photographer: Ken James/Bloomberg
Audio Download: Gunderson Says Avoid Solar and Wind ETFs: June 2
Photovoltaic cell production for solar panels takes place inside a Suntech Power Holdings Co. facility. Source: Suntech Power Holdings Co. via Bloomberg
Short sellers are flocking to solar power, dumping record levels of stock in First Solar Inc. (FSLR) and competing equipment makers in a bet that profit will be hurt by a glut of Chinese panels and shrinking demand in Europe.
First Solar of Tempe, Arizona, the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar panels, had a record 23 percent of outstanding shares sold short this month, according to Data Explorers information on Bloomberg. A record 54 percent of Germany’s Q- Cells SE is short, meaning the stock was borrowed for sale by speculators who hope to buy it back later more cheaply.
A surge in Chinese competition and solar subsidy cuts in the world’s biggest markets of Germany and Italy have attracted short selling that has helped push down the 37-member Bloomberg Global Leaders Solar Index 22 percent this quarter. The index’s price-earnings ratio has dropped to 15 from 19 since March 31.
“The stocks look cheap, but 2012 still has massive and potentially overwhelming challenges,” said Shawn Kravetz, chief executive officer of Esplanade Capital. The Boston-based hedge fund has bought Chinese manufacturers and shorted their European competitors, he said, without naming stocks sold short.
Officials for First Solar declined to comment. Thalheim- based Q-Cells did not respond to e-mails or calls.
Kravetz said his colleagues who’ve invested in solar stocks for seven years call the industry a “solarcoaster” because of price volatility. The 37-member Bloomberg solar index has a 60- day volatility of 24 percent, or twice the 12 percent rating of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, according to data on Bloomberg.
Evergreen, Suntech
Not all out-of-favor stocks are heavily shorted. The solar index’s biggest decliner this quarter, down 56 percent since March 31, is Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) of Marlboro, Massachusetts, though just 15 percent of its shares were held short as of June 16, the most recent day Data Explorers data was provided.
Ten stocks on the index are shorted more heavily, including four Chinese manufacturers -- LDK Solar Co., Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., Suntech Power Holdings Co. and Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) Merrimack, New Hampshire-based GT Solar International Inc. (SOLR), a maker of photovoltaic and polysilicon technology products, has a record 20 percent of its outstanding shares borrowed for short sales.
Jim Chanos, the short seller known for predicting Enron Corp.’s collapse, last month recommended investors should bet against First Solar and said Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the largest wind-turbine manufacturer, is “best avoided.”
Supply Pinch Gone
“Being a buyer of PV is much nicer than being a seller,” said John Rego, chief financial officer of South Plainfield, New Jersey-based Petra Solar, which produces solar generators with integrated smart-grid connections for utilities. At the start of last year “it was rather difficult to get PV, and many smaller companies such as ourselves found ourselves in a spot market. That issue no longer exists.”
As Italy and Germany slowed development of solar projects, China’s JA Solar Holdings Co. and Suntech, the world’s biggest solar-cell makers by capacity, were leading an industrywide expansion of factory capacity that will add at least 9.5 gigawatts of new manufacturing lines this year. That will boost global capacity to 41.5 gigawatts, outstripping demand of no more than 28 gigawatts forecast by New Energy Finance.
Factory Expansion
“We had all this capacity added right ahead of the two biggest markets showing a significant slowdown, that’s why we have a tremendous collapse,” said Gordon Johnson, a solar analyst at Axiom Capital Management in New York. He said the stocks may fall another 50 percent. "This doesn’t end nicely any time soon.’’
Manufacturers of solar cells, the device fastened to panels for converting sunlight into electricity, have cut their price about 21 percent this year, prompting panel makers to follow suit, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The solar index lost 25 percent through June 17 from its 13-month high on Feb. 18. The gauge declined as much as 0.5 percent today and traded down 0.4 percent at 1:15 p.m. central European time. Germany’s Conergy AG fell 10 percent.
Global installations of photovoltaic devices doubled last year as developers rushed to hook up equipment in Germany before the government lowered incentives. New plants still may increase by about 30 percent this year as the cost of solar energy drops to near the rate consumers pay for power from the national grid in some of the sunniest parts of California and Turkey.
That’s made Charles Yonts, a solar analyst at CLSA in Hong Kong, optimistic that the industry can work through its inventory without suffering additional declines.
“The worst has passed for demand, but now it’s a question of working through the inventory and that’s difficult,” said Yonts, who recommends investors buy Trina Solar and Trony Solar Holdings Co. of Hong Kong. “Prices have fallen so much that returns are now attractive.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
Opti Mist
13 years ago
UPDATE 1-GT Solar gets largest ever order of $460.4 mln
Fri Jun 3, 2011 8:27am EDT
* Gets order for sapphire crystallization furnaces
* Order from China-based co to be included in Q1 backlog
* Shares rise 9 pct pre-market (Follows alerts)
June 3 (Reuters) - GT Solar International Inc , a solar and LED equipment maker, said it received its largest ever order worth $460.4 million from a Chinese customer for its furnaces used in sapphire production.
The order will be included in the company's backlog for the fiscal first quarter ending July 2, GT Solar said in a statement.
The unnamed customer is a manufacturing company that is a new entrant to the LED industry, GT said.
Sapphire wafers are used in making LEDs.
Merrimack, New Hampshire-based GT Solar last month raised its outlook for earnings, revenue and margin for fiscal 2012 on a string of recent orders. [ID:nL3E7GO27G]
Shares of the company were up 9 percent at $13.11 before the bell on Friday. (Reporting by Krishna N Das in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
Opti Mist
13 years ago
GT Solar International (SOLR): Zacks Rank Buy
GT Solar International, Inc. (NasdaqGS: SOLR - News) reported its highest revenue levels in company history in its latest quarterly announcement. Shares are trading with great valuations, solid earnings momentum and a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy).
Company Description
GT Solar makes polysilicon production technology and other material for solar, LED and similar markets.
Top Line Swells 65%
On May 23 GT Solar reported fourth quarter results that showed quarterly revenues jumping 39%, to $272 million. Annual revenue was up 65% to $899 million which is a company record.
Net income for the quarter jumped from $33.3 million to $51.9 million, a 56% improvement. Earnings worked out to $0.41 per share, up 78% from $0.23 and topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7 cents. The company now has 6 consecutive earnings surprises.
Raising the Bar
In addition to the results, GT Solar raised its 2012 guidance. Full-year revenue is expected to come in between $1.0 billion and $1.1 billion. The EPS guidance was above the consensus at the time so analysts quickly raised their outlook as well.
The average estimate for fiscal 2012 is up 28 cents, to $1.70 since the report. Next year's projections are up 48 cents on average, to $1.69.
Those levels put growth at 37% this year and essentially flat next year. But, given the historical earnings trends, next year's consensus could quickly move higher as the year continues.
Great Value as Well
Right now shares are exchanging hands with a single-digit P/E and a PEG ratio of just 0.8 times. There is plenty of political, as well as economic, risk in the solar sector but if you're going to make a play, why not get a cheap one?
The Chart
In regards to that earnings trends I mentioned earlier, take a look at just how sharply those estimates have been rising. That has given us some solid expected growth this year, a great value and a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy).
Bill Wilton is the Aggressive Growth Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. He is also the Editor in charge of the Zacks Small Cap Trader service
GT SOLAR INTL (SOLR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Zacks Investment Research
Opti Mist
13 years ago
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/varian-appliedmaterials-idUSN0430343020110504?type=bondsNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=bondsNews&rpc=43
Shares of Novellus Systems (NVLS.O), another chip-gear maker, jumped 6.5 percent to $32.92 as investors speculated that competitors plump with cash after cutting costs during the recession could make more acquisitions.
"Their business models are working pretty well right now, so what do you do with the cash? Maybe you buy back shares, or you can go out and try to buy a company that will offer you some opportunities to expand your market," said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Weston Twigg.
He pointed to Nanometrics (NANO.O), GT Solar (SOLR.O), Rudolph Technologies (RTEC.O) and Cymer (CYMI.O) as potential targets.
Opti Mist
13 years ago
So, what exactly does this mean?
Extremely High Put/Call Ratios by: Kapitall May 03, 2011 |
The put/call ratio can be a very helpful indicator for excessively positive or negative sentiment. In the case of extremely high put/call ratios, contrarian investors might argue that the excessive bearishness would indicate that a turnaround is imminent.
With that in mind, we wanted to look at currently undervalued stocks, with PEG < 1 and P/FCF < 10. Among these undervalued stocks, we wanted to find those with the highest increases in put/call ratios over the last two weeks, reaching the upper end of their annual P/C ranges............
7. GT Solar International, Inc. (SOLR): Semiconductor Industry. Market cap of $1.36B. PEG at 0.71. P/FCF at 5.89. Put/Call ratio has increased 85.94% over the last ten trading days (from 0.64 to 1.19, which is currently at 88% of its annual P/C range). The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 12.09% over the last week.
JP
Opti Mist
13 years ago
GT Solar to Supply Sapphire Material to Tera Xtal Technology Corporation
Leading Taiwanese Manufacturer Increases Production of LED Epitaxial-Ready Wafers
tweet0EmailPrintCompanies:GT Solar International, Inc. Related Quotes
Symbol Price Change
SOLR 11.01 -0.01
{"s" : "solr","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Press Release Source: GT Solar International, Inc. On Tuesday May 3, 2011, 8:00 am EDT
MERRIMACK, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOLR - News), a global provider of polysilicon production technology, sapphire and silicon crystalline growth systems, and materials for the LED and other specialty markets, today announced that it has signed an agreement with leading Taiwanese LED wafer manufacturer, Tera Xtal Technology Corporation, to supply Tera Xtal sapphire cores for increasing their production of epitaxial-ready LED wafers.
“We are increasing our volume of epi-ready wafers to meet rising customer demand,” said Steven Liu, President of Tera Xtal. “We have had a successful, long-standing relationship with Crystal Systems, now GT Solar, and have come to rely on their ability to provide us with LED sapphire material that meets our high standards for quality. We look forward to continuing our relationship with GT Solar into the future.”
“We are pleased that Tera Xtal has selected GT Solar to provide them with LED sapphire material to meet their increased production needs,” said Tom Gutierrez, president and CEO of GT Solar. “Our ability to supply sapphire cores to a leading LED industry player such as Tera Xtal not only demonstrates the quality of the sapphire produced by GT’s proprietary Advanced Sapphire Furnaces but also provides support to our expanding universe of equipment customers as they ramp into production over the coming year.”
GT’s new sapphire production facility increases the availability of high quality sapphire material for its LED and specialty market sapphire customers. Initially, material allocation will satisfy both LED and specialty market customers, but long term, as its equipment customers ramp into high volume production, GT expects that the majority of its sapphire production to be allocated to meet new specialty market growth in areas such as high energy lasers, medical devices, and applications requiring large area substrates for the aerospace and defense industries.
About GT Solar International, Inc.
GT Solar International, Inc. is a global provider of polysilicon production technology, sapphire and silicon crystalline growth systems, and materials for the LED and other specialty markets. The company's products and services allow its customers to optimize their manufacturing environments and lower their cost of ownership. For additional information about GT Solar, please visit www.gtsolar.com.
About Tera Xtal Technology Corporation (4969) (TXT)
Tera Xtal Technology Corporation (TXT), a leading Taiwanese supplier of sapphire products, is dedicated in manufacturing high quality 2 to 6 inch sapphire wafers for LED industry. The company is one of the world’s largest single crystal wafer providers with significant domestic market share and continuous expansion to the rest of Asia, Japan, North America, and Europe. For more information, please visit www.teraxtal.com.
Opti Mist
13 years ago
The Significance of the Total Deal--Will GT Solar be a future target for a buyout?
France's Total drops $1.4B on SunPower in major oil-solar deal (05/02/2011)
Joel Kirkland, E&E reporter
Wall Street investors rewarded SunPower Corp. on Friday for a nearly $1.4 billion partnership with France's Total SA, giving the solar power stock a 34 percent boost by day's end.
Total, one of Europe's top oil producers, agreed to take up to a 60 percent stake in San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower, which is the second-largest U.S. solar panel manufacturer. Solar industry analysts viewed the move as a sign that the solar sector will see more consolidation and strategic partnerships. Clean energy enthusiasts noted the first recent partnership between a sizable renewable energy company and an oil giant.
"This is sort of a wake-up call for big American oil companies," said Greg Kats, a managing director of venture capital firm Good Energies. "Where do they fit into this transition to clean energy; where do they hedge their bets?"
Oil giants such as BP and Shell have dabbled in solar power in the past, but significant buy-in from a well-capitalized hydrocarbon company has been elusive for the renewable energy sector in recent years. Kats said it could be the start of a trend.
"In many ways, renewables are a natural extension for Big Oil," he said. "What's great for renewables is you have a deeper balance sheet, lower-cost equity and lower-cost debt."
Oil companies know how to compete in global markets, Kats said, and they could bring experience to big energy projects and to a manufacturing sector that competes with Asia. "Total is saying we're not in the hydrocarbon business, but in the energy services business," he said.
A need for partners with deep pockets
For SunPower, Total's cash injection means a deep-pocketed investor that can support both upstream and downstream development of the business, said Nathaniel Bullard, a solar analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
U.S. solar companies are looking for partners to add the financial heft and depth needed to secure financing for future projects. The exit strategy for solar companies sponsoring expensive projects has been to sell assets to private investors or to an independent power producer. Bullard said a company like Total can keep assets on the books. And in doing so, those assets expand the balance sheet and improve opportunities for securing more funding.
"An oil company has a capital structure and ability to retain ownership of assets for many years," Bullard said.
"It looks like Total was interested in doing a strategic play," he said. "The market is now reaching the scope and scale where they bring a material advantage to project development, financing and asset management."
A foothold in a bigger game
If solar continues to look like a growth market, Bullard said it might make sense for U.S. and European oil and gas companies that bring in $100 billion or so a year, or a large industrial conglomerate, to get a foothold in solar.
In early April, the Department of Energy said it would provide a $1.2 billion loan guarantee to support SunPower's California Valley Solar Ranch. That project is the biggest U.S. photovoltaic project to use an automated system that allows modules to follow the sun, and, according to DOE, it improves output by 25 percent.
Solar companies have been securing large amounts of financing for future projects, including tapping equity markets and searching for strategic partnerships. Shortly before DOE announced its deal with SunPower, the agency said it would provide a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to BrightSource Energy Inc. to help it build its 392-megawatt Ivanpah solar-thermal project in the California desert.
BrightSource last week filed for a $250 million initial public offering, and it has already taken $160 million from Google for the Ivanpah project.
U.S. solar companies are reporting first-quarter earnings in the coming weeks. A survey of Wall Street earnings expectations by Dow Jones Newswires suggests analysts are preparing for mixed results.
First Solar, the biggest U.S. manufacturer of thin-film solar panels, is forecast to post earnings of $1.16 a share on $544 million in revenue, slightly below revenues during the same period last year. But analysts appear optimistic about the company's position in the U.S. market and the strength of its finances. First Solar, based in Tempe, Ariz., said last month it would continue expanding its U.S. investments by building a solar panel factory in Arizona.
Opti Mist
13 years ago
$40 per share on the horizon?
From the Seeking Alpha article quoted above.
Looks like GT Solar is well on its way to meeting or exceeding the current high revenue mark for FY2012. I would not be surprised to see Mr. Gutierrez revise his guidance up yet again when he reports Q4 FY2011 results.
With no additional orders, $919.14 million in revenue should translate to an EPS of $1.34, right in the middle of GT Solar's guidance. I think it will get more orders, which means the EPS of $1.50 is very achievable. A simple 10x multiple means a $15/share stock. If you set the multiple equal to the EPS growth rate (27%), you get a $40.50/share stock.[color=red][/color]When the $218.9 million order was announced (27-Apr-2011), the stock price soared 11.89% (from $9.75 to $10.91) on 214% volume increase. Keep in mind, this is after the price had fallen from its recent high of $11.68 in mid-January. Most of that decline was probably due to Fidelity taking profits and some officer selling.
With the run-up in price after the announcement, it's obvious someone else besides me has done the math. This may mark an excellent entry point before the Q4 FY2011 earnings release and any potential analyst revisions. I would like to see Piper Jaffray change its rating from underweight to overweight. According to Yahoo! Finance, current average analyst rating is 1.8 [(Strong Buy) 1.0 - 5.0 (Sell)].
GT Solar is currently undervalued to its FY2012 earnings.
Disclosure: I am long SOLR.
Opti Mist
13 years ago
GT Solar (SOLR) has announced two orders for Q1 FY2012, with a total revenue of $312.8 million: one order for $218.9 million for sapphire crystallization furnaces (LED) and one for $93.9 million for polysilicon equipment (solar manufacturing).
What is great about these two announcements is that it shows that GT Solar is playing in two diverse, high-growth fields. Also, even though both orders are from Asia, one is from Taiwan (as opposed to China).
Both orders are going against GT Solar's backlog for the first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year (ending July 2, 2011). According to Yahoo! Finance, analyst estimates for Q1 FY2012 revenue are $165.11 to $344.40 million. These two orders alone get GT Solar 90.8% of the way to the high revenue estimate for the quarter.
For the entire 2012 fiscal year, analyst estimates for revenue are $847.76 million to $1.06 billion, which match perfectly to the guidance GT Solar gave in the press release of its third quarter fiscal year 2011 results.
GT Solar estimates EPS for FY2012 to be between $1.25 and $1.50 as a result of $850 million to $1 billion in revenue. The $1.25 to $1.50 per share represents a net income of 19% of revenue. During the last reported quarter (Q3 FY2011), it did better at 24%. In the Q3 FY2011 press release, CEO Tom Gutierrez said, "gross margins were above our new long-term target of 40 to 42 percent"; therefore, if gross margins are more in line with the company's target for FY2012, 19% is probably a reasonable and achievable target.
Opti Mist
13 years ago
GT Solar gets $94M equipment and technology order from Powertec Energy of Taiwan
On Monday April 25, 2011, 6:04 pm EDT
MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) -- GT Solar International Inc., a maker of solar equipment, said Monday that it has received a $93.9 million order from Powertec Energy Corp., a Taiwanese polysilicon producer.
GT Solar will provide polysilicon production equipment and technology for a Powertec facility that is expected to begin production in 2012. The order will be included as part of GT Solar's 2012 fiscal first quarter, which ends July 2.
Shares of GT Solar fell 6 cents to close at $9.59 on Monday.
Shmoopster
13 years ago
Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 38 cents per share on revenue of $251.91 million."
Report after the close of market on NASDAQ on Wednesday, February 2, 2011.
***"In December, the company boosted its full-year earnings and agreed to repurchase shares from private investors for about $203 million. The supplier of equipment to solar manufacturers agreed to buyback 26.5 million shares of its common stock held by GT Solar Holdings, which is controlled by the co.’s private equity investors, GFI Energy Group and Oaktree Capital Management. GT Solar lifted its earnings per share guidance for fiscal year 2011 to a range of $1.08 to $1.18, up from the range of $1.00 to $1.10. Full year revenues are expected to range from $775 million to $850 million."
***"GT Solar has won a flurry of orders in recent months, and the firm had said in December it expects the sapphire business to be one of its key drivers in 2011."
***"Last month, GT Solar received an order worth $47.3 million"
***"Earlier this month, the company was awarded a contract valued at $37.5 million"
***"On January 20, GT Solar received yet another order worth $33.3 million"
Opti Mist
13 years ago
GT Solar receives $33M order for sapphire crystallization furnaces from South Korea-based OCI
GT Solar International, Inc. Related Quotes
Symbol Price Change
SOLR 11.21 +0.46
On Thursday January 20, 2011, 4:42 pm
MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) -- GT Solar International Inc., which makes equipment and develops technology for the power industry, received a $33 million order for sapphire crystallization furnaces from South Korea-based OCI Co. Ltd., the company said Thursday.
The purchase marks OCI's entrance into the LED industry, and it is GT Solar's first commercial sale of its sapphire crystallization furnaces in Korea.
"This is the third order for our sapphire crystallization furnaces in the last two months from leading PV manufacturers that are entering the LED market," said Tom Guiterrez, GT Solar's president and CEO. "We worked closely with OCI several years ago when they launched their polysilicon production operations helping them to become one of the PV industry's leading producers of polysilicon."
Polysilicon is used in many solar-energy and liquid crystal display (LCD) products.
Shares of the Merrimack, N.H.-based company rose 46 cents, or 4.3 percent, to close at $11.21.
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