Solars retreat after India reportedly mulls tariffs
Shares of several solar energy companies are slumping after Bloomberg reported that the Indian government found evidence that companies had dumped solar products in India. WHAT'S NEW: First Solar (FSLR) and Yingli Green (YGE) were among the foreign companies that sold solar equipment in India for much less than in their home markets, the Indian government found, according to Bloomberg. New Delhi may respond by imposing tariffs on U.S. and Chinese solar products, the news service stated. Duties would make most large scale solar projects in the country unviable, Bloomberg quoted an India-based consultant as saying. WHAT'S NOTABLE: In a note to investors earlier today, Deutsche Bank analyst Vishal Shah wrote that the risk/reward ratio on SolarCity (SCTY) and SunPower (SPWR) are attractive at current levels. SunPower should benefit from strong demand for existing projects that can be carried out by yieldcos, Shah wrote. Yieldcos are subsidiaries of energy companies that own power plants and projects and typically trade on stock exchanges. Meanwhile, if the U.S. imposes duties on solar equipment imported from Taiwan next month, SolarCity is confident that it can respond by reducing the costs of overall systems, the analyst reported. The company's price increases should be much less than the consensus outlook, according to Shah, who kept Buy ratings on SolarCity and SunPower. PRICE ACTION: In early afternoon trading, First Solar gave back 4.5% to $59.11, Yingli Green dropped 5.6% to $2.88, JinkoSolar (JKS) plunged 9.4% to $23.80, Canadian Solar (CSIQ) sank 7.4% to $24.93, SunPower slid 4.5% to $31.51, and SolarCity tumbled 6.5% to $50.85. |
