Needham & Company Downgrades LDK Solar (LDK) to Hold; See Weak Margins and More Losses Limiting Share Price

Needham & Company downgraded LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) from Buy to Hold.

Needham analyst says, "While guidance implies higher revenue in both 3Q11
and 4Q11, we are concerned that falling prices will offset increased volume, limiting revenue growth. Additionally, we believe weaker gross margins coupled with higher expenses will result in more losses over the next few quarters. Longer-term, we believe LDK’s strategy of integrating all parts of the solar value chain should enable competitive advantages over many peers. However, the slow ramp up of polysilicon production is preventing the company from fully realizing those benefits. Therefore, we believe a more defensive rating is appropriate at this time...We lower our 2011 EPS estimate to ($0.19) and 2012 EPS to ($0.46)."

For more ratings news on LDK Solar click here and for the rating history of LDK Solar click here.

Shares of LDK Solar closed at $6.18 yesterday.

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