It was another crazy week for solar.
Though it did end with many solar stocks inching up.
In fact Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ:ESLR) – although still extremely undervalued – gained more than 51 percent this week. I do hope you took advantage of my update on October 20, when I noted that shares of Evergreen under $4.00 were a bargain.
On Thursday, First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) reported Q3 results. Shares took off when the company announced that revenue doubled, and analysts rushed to put out their upgrades. After such a dismal past few months in the sector, this little piece of news sent nearly every solar stock north.
Admittedly, I wish I would’ve pulled the trigger on FSLR when it fell below $100. Nick Hodge and I actually discussed this one in depth a few weeks ago. Nick took a shot and recommended FSLR to his Alternative Energy Speculators – and now they’re up. For us, I believe this is still a $200 stock. But after this recent run, I think we’ll be wise to hold out until it dips again. Which I doubt is something we’ll have to wait too long for.
You see, even with the Dow finishing the day up, the economy is still in for a long and bumpy ride. Perhaps you saw today that the Commerce Department reported that consumer spending dropped by 0.3 percent in September. And this came right after it was reported that GDP fell by 0.3 percent. Not as bad as expected – but not good enough for us to believe everything is alright now.
It should also be noted that the Labor Department reported wages rose by only 0.7 percent – just like the previous two quarters. This is further evidence that economic conditions are smothering wages.
Of course, I’m not trying to overwhelm you with the doom and gloom. Eventually, things will get better. The economy will recover, and the Dow will ease up on those days where we’re up 200 points at 9:40, then down 300 points at 10:20, then up 40 points by 11:00, and so on.
In the meantime, we’ll continue to monitor all the stocks in our watch list for entry points that make sense – and overall market conditions that will enable less volatility.
Have a great weekend!