While there’s been plenty of interest in solar power of late, solar stocks haven’t always fared so well. Indeed, Citi recently rolled out word on an entire slate of stocks that may be turning things around but in many cases, are still facing high risk. The list features First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ), SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR), and Sunnova Energy (NASDAQ:NOVA), with somewhat different results accordingly.
First Solar got a little bit of an edge, going from its original classification of “Sell/High Risk” to its new classification of “Neutral/High Risk.” The good news for First Solar is that many of the risk factors—like high poly costs, financing issues, and potentially unreasonable earnings projections—have been addressed to First Solar’s benefit. Hence the hike in classification. Meanwhile, Canadian Solar might have the advantage over First Solar, thanks to the drop in poly costs and weakening Chinese currency issues that may mean better deals for Canadian Solar.
Sunnova Energy might have gotten off the lightest. Citi kicked off coverage on the stock with a Neutral rating and not much else to say. But perhaps the worst of all was SunPower, which got added to the downside catalyst listings with a pessimistic outlook for its second-quarter EBITDA estimates. And with another rate hike afoot and trouble in the California solar market, every residential solar company will likely have some fallout to deal with.
Only Canadian Solar came out with positive results ahead of the closing bell. However, it has the second weakest upside potential, coming in at 27.33% with an average price target of $47.80. Meanwhile, the strongest upside potential comes from the biggest risk on the list, Sunnova Energy. It’s considered a Strong Buy by most analysts, but it also has 51.57% upside potential on an average price target of $35.27.
