Tag Archives: run

Can Tesla ‘Cousin’ SolarCity Hold Above Key Level Before Earnings?

After testing support at a key level in Tuesday’s session, SolarCity ( SCTY ) is trying to hold above that mark in the stock market today , ahead of its quarterly report next Monday. The stock rose nearly 5% Wednesday morning on a bullish analyst rating, but it reversed lower amid a market sell-off. SolarCity is now mostly unchanged, with the stock trading in quick turnover. A gain would end a four-session slide, with shares bouncing back from a test of support at their 50-day line. The stock is trading more than 50% below its 52-week high, as the shares have been scorched in recent months by Nevada’s new net-metering rules. Guggenheim initiated coverage on the solar panel installer with a buy rating and a price target of 38. On Monday, Credit Suisse cut its price target on SolarCity from 89 to 62 while maintaining its outperform rating. When it reports after the close next Monday, SolarCity is expected to report a 61% revenue rise, while its per-share loss widens to $2.34 a share from $1.52 a share last year. SolarCity’s “cousin company”  Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) — which is helmed by SolarCity Chairman Elon Musk — reports after the close tonight, Wednesday evening. Tesla shares are down nearly 2% intraday, falling just below their 50-day line but still just above their 200-day. Tesla is projected to show a widened bottom-line loss on sales growth of 45% as the automaker ramps up Model X production. Tesla’s Powerwall battery storage units are now beginning residential installations. SolarCity, whose founders are Musk’s cousins, is incorporating the Tesla batteries into its own energy storage system. Meanwhile, SolarCity rival Sunrun ( RUN ) reports earnings next Thursday. The August 2015 IPO’s sales are projected to come in at $83.4 million, down 16% from Q4, while its loss deepens from last quarter to 53 cents a share. Sunrun is up nearly 60% from its February low, but it is still nearly 50% below its all-time high reached in December. Sunrun rose fractionally Wednesday intraday. Elsewhere in the solar panel space, Solaredge ( SEDG ) fell 4.5%, and First Solar ( FSLR ) retreated by 1.7%. First Solar has lost 16% in five days since reporting weaker-than-expected revenue last week.

Could Sunrun-NRG Energy Pairing Topple No. 1 Rival SolarCity?

No. 2 residential installer Sunrun ( RUN ) could fortify against top rival SolarCity ( SCTY ) by acquiring NRG Energy ‘s ( NRG ) rooftop business, a Credit Suisse analyst suggested Monday. But both Sunrun and SolarCity stocks were torched by the analyst’s estimate cuts. In morning trading on the stock market today , SolarCity stock was down 4.5%, while Sunrun stock was down nearly 2%. SolarCity and Sunrun are slated to report Q1 earnings on May 9 and May 12, respectively. Installations appear to be tracking in line, but bookings are below guidance and will likely jeopardize the companies’ respective 44% and 40% growth guidance, said Credit Suisse analyst Patrick Jobin. Jobin cut his price targets on SolarCity and Sunrun stocks to 62 from 89, and to 18 from 21, respectively. In a research note, Jobin said he expects SolarCity to have installed 178 megawatts in Q1, up 18% year over year, vs. guidance for 180 MW. “We believe we are being very conservative, a necessary measure as the company has missed guidance (in) three of the last five quarters,” he wrote. Jobin expects Sunrun to hit installation views for 56 MW, down 17% vs. the year-earlier quarter, on the exclusion of 12 MW in Nevada. Nevada recently cut payments to solar customers for energy fed back into the grid, and it retroactively applied the new rules to existing customers, prodding solar companies to exit the state. That Nevada net-metering decision, complicated by “regulatory flux” — California and Massachusetts’ rule-making and the Investment Tax Credit extension — is the likely culprit behind slow Q1 bookings, Jobin wrote. For Q1, the consensus of 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters tips SolarCity to report $108.5 million in sales, up 61% year over year, and a $2.34 per-share loss minus items, widening from a $1.52 loss in the year-earlier quarter. Three months ago, SolarCity guided to a $2.55-$2.65 per-share loss minus items. Sunrun is expected to report $83.4 million in sales and a 53-cent per-share loss minus items. Sales would fall 16% from Q4, and losses would deepen from a 15-cent loss in the prior quarter. Sunrun made its IPO last August. Jobin cut his U.S. 2016 residential demand to 3 gigawatts, up 45%. Of that, he expects SolarCity to install 1.2 GW, and Sunrun to install 271 MW. NRG could prove a wildcard, Jobin said. A deal with Sunrun would make sense, given the firm’s platform model. “NRG’s residential business has been earmarked for a change — potentially an imminent sale or partnership,” he wrote. “Whatever happens will be critical, as it could enable a weaker player or strengthen an incumbent.”

SolarCity Flames On San Francisco Ordinance; Sunrun Sued

SolarCity ( SCTY ) stock flamed Wednesday, leading shares of rivals Vivint Solar ( VSLR ) and Sunrun ( RUN ), on a San Francisco, Calif., mandate requiring that solar panels be installed on most new construction under 10 stories tall. SolarCity stock rose 7.8% Wednesday. It was up as much as 13%. Shares of Sunrun and Vivint Solar rose a respective 3.6% and 1%. Introduced by San Francisco County Supervisor Scott Wiener, the ordinance requires solar panels or a solar-powered heating system be installed on new residential construction shorter than 10 stories and on new commercial buildings smaller than 2,000 square feet. The SF Board passed the measure unanimously on Tuesday. It goes into effect Jan. 1. Current California law already requires 15% of certain new construction to be “solar ready,” meaning it’s in an unshaded area. Wiener’s legislation builds onto San Francisco’s already burgeoning green efforts. In 2004, the city introduced a choice aggregation program dubbed CleanPowerSF. Sunrun Faces Four New Class-Action Lawsuits Over IPO In other solar news, Sunrun became the subject of four new class-action lawsuits on Tuesday alleging the No. 2 residential installer by market value “negligently prepared” its IPO, according to a claim by the Shareholders Association. The lawsuits stem, in part, from Nevada regulators’ decision in December to cut net-metering payments to solar customers. More recently, the Public Utilities Commission opted to not grandfather in existing customers under the old rates. New York, N.Y., law firm Levi & Korinsky alleges Sunrun’s IPO contained materially false or misleading statements related to its historical operating costs “by not disclosing the fixed grid costs being borne for it by public utilities where net metering-programs were being employed.” The claim further alleges Sunrun is charging well above wholesale rates for electricity sold to net-metering customers, didn’t have customers dispersed across 15 states and said “Sunrun’s ability to continue convincing customers to sign 20-year contracts was in jeopardy.” Sunrun went public in August 2015, opening below its 14 IPO price. Shares closed Wednesday at 7.27, 48% off Sunrun’s initial price.