中概太阳能全线反弹性 on Barclays upgraded STO, JASO

Upgrades Power Chinese Solar Stocks Ahead of Expected Subsidies
by Owen Vater | December 7th
Filed in: Green Investing News | International Stock and ADR News

Chinese solar stocks were up big to start the week on analyst upgrades and further optimism for China subsidies.

Chinese solar stocks have been hard to keep up with over the last month, and analysts are following the wave of positive news with a slew of upgrades for the sector. After a blow-out third-quarter earnings season, in which some companies reported record shipments of photovoltaic (PV) modules, reports surfaced that China plans to more than double its environmental protection spending through 2015.

According to DigiTimes, China’s government has pledged to reduce the country’s carbon footprint by 40-45% from 2005 levels by 2020. The degree to which China will incentivize solar installations and other eco-friendly investments depends on the outcome of the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will conclude on December 18.

As of Friday’s close, the Chinese Solar Stocks Index was up by 28% over the last month. That’s 25% better than the S&P 500, and enough to place the Index among the top-3 performing tickerspy Indexes for the period.

Barclays expressed optimism for the solar sector this morning. The analyst forecast strong demand through the first half of 2010, and upped its full-year 2010 demand outlook to 9.3 gigawatts from 7.3 gigawatts.

Chinese solar giant Suntech Power Holdings (STP) is among today’s winners after receiving an upgrade to Overweight from Equal-weight at Barclays. The analyst boosted the stock’s price target to $20 from $15. JA Solar (JASO) is also trading higher on a Barclays upgrade.

Yingli Green Energy (YGE) is moving higher after announcing a sales agreement with German rooftop solar specialist Payom Solar. The deal is expected to result in the sale of 51 megawatts of Yingli PV modules through the end of 2010.

Elsewhere in the sector, Trina Solar (TSL), Solarfun Power Holdings (SOLF), and ReneSola (SOL) are all ahead for the session. LDK Solar (LDK), which topped the sector with a 15.3% run last week, is also moving higher.

As of this writing, Chinese stocks Indexes make up three of the top-five performing tickerspy Indexes over the last month. Moving forward it will be interesting to see which companies benefit from future environmental incentives.

Tags: JASO, LDK, SOL, SOLF, STP, TSL, YGE