It seems to me that solar stocks are starting to move does anybody know why or disagree or even better?

Question

reccomend any good ones

Answer 1

Yes, you're a little late, they have been moving for a while now (at least a half-year or more).

The problem is to decide which of the various solar-related companies are going to do well in the long-term and which are flash-in-the-pan kind of companies. In the recent flush of enthusiasm, the market has driven up prices of both good and not-so-good solar companies.

Companies like MEMC Electronics, SunPower, First Solar are not cheap even for an optimist (!) and woefully overpriced in many cases (First Solar has a P/E of 194 at this writing). I don't see a clear-cut good deal on solar companies at this time -- I am not saying they won't do well, just that it's not clear if any of them are undervalued (underpriced) at this time. MEMC Electronics is probably the best of these.

Chinese solar stocks, in particular, are quite dicey. You might possibly make some significant money on them, or lose your shirt. Many of them have negative cash-flow right now, so even if orders are pouring in, the intense competition for deals and for raw resources may mean that getting and maintaining a decent profit margin is difficult. MEMC Electronics squeezes out a positive cash flow even after debt payments etc.

In addition, some of the best stock bets may be on large companies that have solar project or solar subsidiaries but are not predominately solar companies. For example, GE is getting heavily into solar and is a good bet right now.

Answer 2

Yes they are moving and have been for the last 5 months or so.

One main reason, High oil/fuel prices partly because of increasing oil/fuel demand in China, India and other third world but developing countries.

The high cost of energy makes solar an option for people with capital to invest.

Answer 3

They've been moving for a few months now. Analysts seem to think that FSLR has a very good future. They're big, with good momentum and long term contracts. They produce the most affordable product and have locked in materials supply for years to come.