http://biz.yahoo.com/indie/081217/1602_id.html?.v=1
Indie Research
Awaiting a Solar Rebound, the Pros Favor First Solar
Wednesday December 17, 9:33 am ET
By the tickerspy.com Staff
It wasn't long ago that many investors were on the solar bandwagon, riding the enthusiasm for alternative energy through 2007 and into the early part of 2008.
Since then, a number of factors have led to the drop in prices for solar stocks. Subsidies put in place by European governments helped fuel the solar boom, but in recent months, many of the programs have been scaled back. At the same time, falling oil prices have made solar a less urgent solution to energy woes and the global recession has put many ambitious solar plans on hold, particularly as the credit that made the plans possible has dried up.
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Nonetheless, those taking the long view see solar as an important part of the energy mix as longer-term fundamentals point to continued upward pressure in the price of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, dropping polysilicon prices, while they hurt average selling prices for solar modules, will help solar energy achieve pricing parity with traditional energy sources sooner.
A number of Pro investors have been dabbling in solar, some more extensively than others. Growth-oriented investment adviser Zevenbergen Capital Investments has exposure to several solar industry stocks. During Q3, the firm added shares of silicon supplier MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR - News) and First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR - News), a maker of solar cells using thin film technology, while trimming its stake in end-to-end solar provider SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA - News, SPWRB - News). Zevenbergen's largest, U.S.-listed, equity holding at the end of Q3 was in Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) A list of the other companies Zevenbergen is investing in is available at tickerspy.com.
First Solar proved to be the most popular U.S.-based solar play among Pro investors in Q3, the most recent quarter for which complete data is available. Among the 36 investment firms holding stakes in the company, the largest was a 1.9 million-share stake held by mutual fund firm Federated Investors. First Solar is also the favorite U.S.-based solar stock among tickerspy members, though they are also tracking smaller solar plays like Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR - News), Daystar Technologies (Nasdaq: DSTI - News), and Ascent Solar (Nasdaq: ASTI - News).
Pro portfolio performance is based on institutions' top-15 holdings as disclosed in quarter-end filings with the SEC. Pro performance does not take into account additional holdings beyond the top 15 nor does it include positions that are not required to be disclosed by the SEC. As such, Pro portfolio performance should be considered an approximation and not a precise record of how an institution has performed over time.
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