Tag Archives: sune

First Solar, SunPower To Withstand SunEdison Inferno: Guggenheim

First Solar ( FSLR ) and SunPower ( SPWR ) stocks flashed Wednesday after a Guggenheim analyst said rival  SunEdison ‘s ( SUNE ) “collapse” wouldn’t torch the duo and their yieldco 8point3 Energy Partners ( CAFD ). Just ahead of the closing bell on the stock market today , SunPower stock was up about 3%, leading First Solar stock which was up about 2%. Shares of 8point3 Energy Partners trailed, up 0.5%, ahead of beleaguered SunEdison stock, down about 7% and trading below 40 cents. Broadly, solar stocks lit up Wednesday. IBD’s 21-company Energy-Solar industry group was up 2% in late-afternoon trading. SunEdison stock has plunged 99% since its 2015 high on July 20, when it announced its plan to acquire Vivint Solar. Residential installer Vivint Solar scrapped the sale in December, citing SunEd’s lagging financials. Last month, SunEdison’s yieldco TerraForm Global ( GLBL ) distanced itself from massive project developer SunEd, which could be headed for a bankruptcy protection filing soon , according to reports. SunEdison may be in technical default on $725 million in second-tier loans unless it negotiated extensions with creditors. ITC Extension A Boon But First Solar and SunPower won’t feel that heat, Guggenheim analyst Sophie Karp wrote in a research report. Karp initiated coverage on First Solar stock with a buy rating, ahead of SunPower and 8point3 Energy Partners stocks, which have neutral ratings. Congress’ extension to the key Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which underpins the U.S. solar industry, will prove a boon for large-scale developers like First Solar and SunPower, she wrote. Residential installers like SolarCity ( SCTY ) and Sunrun ( RUN ) won’t see the same benefits. “We do not think that residential developers will be main beneficiaries due to the fiercely competitive nature of their business,” she wrote. “Despite operating in a fragmented and competitive market (large-scale developers) are still much better protected and will be able to retain more benefits.” But SunPower might be too internationally stretched to reap the ITC extension benefits as fully as First Solar, Karp wrote. Prepping for the expected expiration Dec. 31, 2016, SunPower invested heavily in international expansion. “Given that the ITC extension has changed the calculus domestically, we wonder if SunPower is now too thinly stretched to take advantage of this backdrop,” Karp wrote. Her price target on SunPower stock is a 21. She lists First Solar stock with a 77 price target. SunEdison’s collapse will likely lead First Solar and SunPower to bring their financing back to basics, Karp wrote. Project financing will be available to reputable players at attractive rates, but yieldcos will likely continue to be shut out of the market. Meanwhile, tech innovations are driving solar costs down and storage is on the horizon, Karp wrote. Storage is often seen as a pie-in-the-sky innovation to cut solar customers’ reliance on utilities at night and on cloudy days.

SunEdison Yieldco TerraForm Power Surges On Boosted Appaloosa Stake

David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management boosted its share Friday in SunEdison ( SUNE ) yieldco TerraForm Power ( TERP ) to more than 10%, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , TerraForm Power stock was up 12%, near 10, after touching a two-week high. Shares are down 31% year to date on SunEd-related struggles. Appaloosa now owns roughly 7.8 million shares, or 10.88%, of TerraForm Power stock, vs. its earlier 9.5% stake. Also, British Virgin Islands fund Palomino Master upped its stake to 6.23%, just shy of 5 million shares. The boosted Appaloosa stake followed Tepper’s calls earlier this week to overhaul TerraForm Power’s board, Reuters reported . On Wednesday, CEO of TerraForm Power and its sister company TerraForm Global ( GLBL ) Brian Wuebbels stepped down amid the controversy. TerraForm Power didn’t share its Friday boon with parent company SunEdison. S&P Global Market Intelligence dropped its coverage of SunEdison stock Friday on “a change in investor focus.” The firm last had a hold rating on shares. SunEdison stock was down more than 6% Friday afternoon, near 50 cents, as the company faces a myriad of issues, including a late Thursday 8-K that revealed a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena into its failed Vivint Solar ( VSLR ) deal. The SEC is also investigating SunEdison, the solar developer confirmed. This week, TerraForm Global said in an 8-K that it’s sufficiently liquid to withstand a SunEdison bankruptcy . SunEdison’s financial woes caused all three to miss a Wednesday deadline to file their annual 10-Ks. Unless SunEdison negotiated extensions, it is now in technical default on $725 million in second-lien loans.

Bankruptcy Watch: SunEdison Subpoenaed On Failed Vivint Solar Deal

U.S. Department of Justice officials subpoenaed SunEdison ( SUNE ), seeking financing details of its failed Vivint Solar ( VSLR ) acquisition and transactions involving yieldcos TerraForm Power ( TERP ) and TerraForm Global ( GLBL ), SunEd revealed in a late Thursday 8-K. The subpoena came Tuesday, a day before Brian Wuebbels stepped down from his CEO positions at both TerraForms. All three have now missed the deadline to file their 10-K documents, meaning that unless waivers have been obtained  from creditors, SunEd is in technical default on $725 million in second-lien loans. Yieldco TerraForm Global said Wednesday it’s sufficiently liquid to survive without SunEdison, noting the parent company’s “substantial risk” of bankruptcy. SunEdison says it plans to cooperate with the DOJ inquiry and an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The subpoena also requests documents related to SunEd’s internal audits and financing information for its Uruguay projects. The beleaguered developer launched an internal investigation in late 2015 into its liquidity stance based on allegations by former and current employees of financial misconduct. Authorities are also looking for documentation related to “the conduct of a former non-executive employee who is alleged to have committed wrongdoing in connection with the Vivint termination negotiations,” according to the 8-K.