Solar-Panel Makers Will Avoid `Hard Landing,' Goldman Sachs Report Says
Solar-panel makers will avoid a “hard landing” in 2011 and forecast that the industry will expand by 13 percent, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
The New York-based bank recommended investors buy shares of First Solar Inc., SMA Solar Technology AG and GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. because the market is priced for a decline in demand this year, according to a research note published today.
The increase in demand for photovoltaic generators will be driven by declines in the prices of panels, government targets for clean power and companies installing panels, Goldman analysts led by Mark Wienkes said in the report. Analysts including Gordon Johnson at Axiom Capital Management in New York have argued that demand will fall as governments in Germany and the Czech Republic cut subsidies.
“While the path for investors is unlikely to be smooth, the opportunity to own long-term solar leaders” at current prices is “appealing,” Wienkes said in the report.
Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar has gained 32 percent over the past 12 months through Jan. 21 to trade at $147.41. Goldman said the stock may exceed its six-month target price of $165 by 15 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net.
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