Solars Higher on Crude Move and Positive Analyst Comments (ASTI, ENER, ESLR, FSLR, HOKU, SPWER, STP, TSL)

June 16, 2008 11:59 AM EDT

Solar stocks are on the move again today. Headlines that Crude futures hit a new high of $139.89 per barrel, before backing off a bit, have investors moving money to the solars today. In addition, a positive research report today from Cowen & Co solar analyst Rob Stone is getting some chatter on trading desks. The headline from Stone's report is pretty straightforward "U.S. solar stocks remain cheap"

That's a pretty bold statement considering the run-up in the sector over the past year or so. Let's see how he gets to that conclusion: Stone said, "Meetings at Intersolar indicate a milder ASP declines than investors have feared, and with costs falling faster, margins should expand." Stone also said concerns about Spain look overstated, and end markets are becoming more diverse. He also noted that in September contracts for 2009 should be set at the EPIA conference, and new Spanish policy should be announced, which he said will raise confidence and drive P/E expansion.

The stocks Stone reiterated his 'Outperform' ratings on are all on the move today: Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ASTI) +7%, Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENER) +10%, Evergreen Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR) +4%, First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) +1.4%, Hoku Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOKU) +2.2%, SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) +6%, Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) +3%, Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) +3%.

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