In the last week or so the solar power companies have been getting down graded from several different analysts. The reasons vary from one another, but the message is still the same… stay away from the sector. The alternative energy sector has made some good gains in recent months, but then again almost everything has made gains since the lows of March.
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The leaders in the sector have really taken a turn down from where they were just a few months ago. First Solar Inc. (FSLR:NASDAQ) was as low as $100 in March climbing nearly 100% to it recent high of over $200 in May and has really taken a beaten since then.
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That’s not the only solar companies that has fallen out of flavor with the analysts. Typically when the price of oil starts to rise, the alternative energy sector gets some headwinds because of the fact that it makes cost effective sense to invest in the solar and wind power stocks. The problem here seems to be that the competitiveness of the sector has gotten really tight causing companies to cut back on their own pricing to compete with others in their market. Each of these companies are trying to get a bigger market share and to do so, pricing and profit will be taking a back seat at the moment.
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Here at Beating The Stock Market, I’ve been very positive about the alternative energy sector and have made plenty of money in trading these stocks. When news like this comes out from several different sources, I tend to stay away from the sector. Too much negative views on a sector does not sit well for me and I will wait and see before I jump back on board with solar or wind power stocks.
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There are many different stocks out there that fall under the term “speculative”, of course that not really the case when it comes to the electric utility stocks. I just want to write about a sector that seems to be building up steam (literally and figuratively) later that needs to be addressed.
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A little over a month ago I started looking for a new speculative stock to trade (oppose to invest in) and I happen to stumble over a company that is in the electric utility sector, but because it is mainly a nuclear play, I thought it would be a decent opportunity. I looked around at other companies that are also trying to expand their nuclear plant output, but this one stuck in my mind.
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I invested a small amount (like I always do on speculative stocks) in the company after reading their
earnings reports and reading the transcripts from their conference calls. Since then the stock price has moved up over 30% in just 5 weeks.
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What really made me think that I had to write a post on it, was the fact that the company was profiled on a CNBC special this week titled Nuclear Option. In the show there was a lot of positive talk about the use of nuclear power being used in this country. There hasn’t been a nuclear power plant built in the United States in over thirty years, but now there are two being built as I type this post. One in
Texas and the other in Maryland.
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The company that I’m referring to is NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG). The company looks good to me and I will be buying more of it on the dips. I do expect it to lose some value because of profit takers as well as the overall market taking it down some as the DOW and the economy take a roller-coaster ride throughout the remaining part of the year. The chart looks healthy and with the price of oil expected to go back up, it will continue to rise.
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As with any stock you look to invest in or trade, you need to do your own research to see if it’s right for you.
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Happy Trading.
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It seems that the stock market doesn’t react the way it should when important economic news is released. Over the last two months there has been negative news reports released that would normally cause the indicies to drop, but instead they have responded in the opposite manner.
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The same goes for the good news that is also released. Look at how the news came out yesterday about the billions of dollars that will be paid back by ten of the major banks. You would think that the news would make investors and traders want to invest in these companies, making the price rise, well it’s wasn’t the case. As a sidebar comment, It amazes me that the money isn’t being returned to the Fed’s, instead it will be held by the Treasury Department just in case it will be needed again. My opinion is that the money will be used in the department’s slush fund and never returned to the tax payer.
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The talk is out again about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The talks should have never halted. How are we to ever take control of our economy if we are depending on foreign countries to supply us with our energy needs? Oil is abundant in the gulf and we are not taking advantage of it, but I guess it’s OK since Russia is working with Cuba to drill in the gulf. That’s real good that they are doing so, this way they can also sell oil to us and we won’t be dependent on the Middle East. If you’re not sure, that last comment was a sarcastic one. Keep an eye on the alternative energy sector for some good gains. When oil gets above $70-$80 per barrel, solar and wind energy becomes more feasible and profitable as an investment.
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The politicians are not doing the job that they were sent to Washington to do. The spending in this country is way out of control and needs to be pulled back. The private sector has to take charge of their future. We can not expect the government to come to their rescue. If the company can’t make a profit, then it needs to close no matter how many people it will affect. In the long run, having the Federal government get involved will only hurt more than it would have originally.
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Keep your eyes on the stock market and be ready to raise capital (cash). I expect a pull back soon enough.
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It’s only a couple of days before President Bush leaves office and Barack Obama takes over. Typically the stock market have improve to some extent when the new President takes charge, but what are we to expect when it’s Obama’s turn? If you follow this blog on a regular basis, you’d know that doing some stock market research will help you prepare for what’s to come in the next month.
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Obama has been working on his stimulus plan for when he takes office. He’s spoken about the infrastructure needs to stimulate the economy. When a politician talks about infrastructure, he basically is referring to roads, public transportation and things of that nature. It seems that Obama’s plan is more in line to boost the green energy sector to help remove our dependency of foreign oil and to reduse green house gases.
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If that’s the case, then we need to focus on some stocks that could benefit from that type of stimulus plan. From what I can tell he hasn’t really spoken to T.Boone Pickins for some advice on what this country needs to do to remove that dependency. I’m incline to think that Natural gas may not be something the Obama is looking towards to help that along. I will say though that Natural gas has made some nice gains in the last week or two. I have been invested in natural gas for sometime and have prospered from those gains and taken some profits in it, but I do hold some interest in a company that should continue to grow.
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What about solar, wind and nuclear energy? I think in each of these areas that there are some stocks that will benefit from the stimulus plan that will most likely pass once Obama is in office. My advice is to look at the leaders of each of those areas and do your research to see if they can make some gains from the plan.
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The only stock that I will recommend at this time would be a company that I’ve spoken about before on this blog. The company has basically bottomed in the last month or so and I have jumped in and out of it a few times with some good gains.
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The company is Quanta Services Inc. This company will prosper from the plan in couple of different ways. It’s a infrastructure construction company that focuses on alternative energy. It has a strong balance sheet as well as some good guidance for the coming quarter and fiscal year. It’s presence in the alternative energy sector is also strong.
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As always, I will tell you to do your own research to see if this trade is right for you. Later this week I’ll have another suggestion for you portfolio.
Happy trading.
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photo by plan my green
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Now with the price of oil being down over 60% since it’s July high of $147 per barrel, it seems that ethanol and other
alternative energy sources have fallen out of flavor with investors. It was obvious to see that we needed to find other means to supply our fuel needs when we were paying $4.11 per gallon of gas (national average July 7, 2008), but with the price of gas now at $1.89 (Nov. 24,2008) people and investors are being blinded by how cheap it is at the moment.
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Ethanol is a fuel source that is derived from corn. A fuel source that has been in use for many years. Unfortunately, it has cause the price of corn to be very volatile and may cause a food shortage if we’re not careful.
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Other alternative energies consist of wind, solar, nuclear and natural gas. All of which we can produce and manufactured in our own backyard without the assistance of foreign countries.
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The problem is that with the price of oil falling to where it was in March 2007, it has made the idea of alternative energies less competitive. The credit crisis has also made it even harder to get the funding that is needed to expand on these ideas.
T.Boone Pickens plan of have a
major wind farm built in Texas has been delayed because of the lack of financial lending.
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It now seems that President-elect
Obama is getting on board with Mr Pickens and his ideas to free this country from the dependency of foreign oils. Word is spreading that within the next stimulus package, alternative energies will be added in.
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Out of the choices that were listed in this post, ethanol is the one that Obama is favoring the most. If that’s the case, ethanol stocks may be something that might interest you. I do not recommend any ethanol stocks because of what is going on with the industry. VeraSun Corp. (NASDAQ:VSE) has filed bankruptcy last week and it’s leading competitor Poet LLC, a private held company is looking to acquire them.
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