Wednesday, November 24, 2010

"Cree: Oppenheimer Sees LED Lift-Off Next Year" and "First Solar: Nod To LA Solar Project Encouraging, Says Citi"

Late hits from Tech Trader Daily!
First up:
“Elements of a very strong 2011 are falling into place” for the light-emitting diode market, writes Oppenheimer & Co.’s Yair Reiner in a note to clients, reiterating an Outperform rating on shares of LED provider Cree (CREE), and a $94 price target on the stock, following a meeting with management yesterday.
Cree shares are $5.95, or 10%, at $64.45 today.

Reiner notes that the LED lighting market in China slowed over the summer, held up by the introduction of new regulations by the government. He expects order flow to pick up in the first quarter of next year. Furthermore, the LCD display market, although not a significant part of Cree’s strategy, is important to support investor sentiment, and Reiner thinks that the LCD market for LED technology will “restart” after Chinese new year....MORE
And:

Shares of First Solar (FSLR) $2.48, or 2%, at $126.68, after Los Angeles county’s board of supervisors yesterday rejected an objection by Northrop Grumman (NOC) to the construction of a major new solar project.
Grumman had said plans for First Solar’s 230 megawatt, 2,100-acre solar panel installation, in Antelope Valley, would interfere with the operations of a facility for testing radar-evading stealth aircraft, according to the write-up today by Marc Lifsher of the LA Times.

In a note to clients today, Citigroup’s Timothy Arcuri writes that the tentative endorsement of the AV Solar Ranch One, as First Solar calls it — it must still be formally approved by the board — is not a big deal for First Solar’s fundamentals, as it was not a big swing factor in estimates for 2011, and is likely not material in that time frame....MORE
This time I mean it, see you all on Friday.