MOST NOTEWORTHY: StoneMor Partners, Suntech Power and Tesoro were today's noteworthy initiations:
Morgan Keegan initiated StoneMor Partners (NASDAQ: STON) with a Market Perform rating. The firm has a low level of confidence in STON's financial projections given its vulnerability to changes in state and local regulations, and financial reporting complexities.
Jesup & Lamont initiated Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) with a Buy based on the company's leading position in solar PV, industry growth and polysilicon supply agreements in place.
Tesoro (NYSE: TSO) was assumed with an Underweight rating at JP Morgan. The firm expects the West Coast margins to remain weak given the decline in the gasoline demand and capacity increases of the majors.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
RBC Capital initiated Agrium (NYSE: AGU) with an Outperform rating and $115 target.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Suntech Power, Premier Exhibitions and the Homebuilders Sector were today's noteworthy initiations:
Citigroup named Suntech Power Holding (NYSE: STP) their top pick for China solar due to its leading scale and technology roadmap for higher cell efficiency, initiating shares with a Buy rating and $55 target.
Merriman believes Premier Exhibitions (NASDAQ: PRXI) can move to the $14.50-$17.00 through the continued monetization of the company's current tours, the launching of additional tours and the value of the Titanic artifacts on hand. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Suntech Power, First Solar, Banco Santander, Internap and NetGear were today's noteworthy initiations:
Merriman initiated shares of Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) with a Buy rating and believes the company is benefiting from strong worldwide demand for solar PV technology. The firm suggests a potential 12-month stock price range of $56-$64.
Merriman also started shares of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) with a Sell rating, as they believe the company's market is limited to ground-based systems because of its cadmium-based technology, which they feel could lead to environment concerns over time.
Deutsche Bank resumed coverage of Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) with a Buy rating. The firm is positive on the bank's agreement with ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN) and feels the company has a lack of exposure to risky assets.
Jefferies believes Internap (NASDAQ: INAP) is well-positioned with its suite of services to address a rapidly growing market, starting shares off with a Buy rating and $20 target.
Nollenberger believes NetGear (NASDAQ: NTGR) provides a pure-play opportunity to capitalize on the global penetration of broadband connectivity. The firm resumed coverage with a Buy rating and $36 target.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
ThinkEquity initiated Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) with a Buy rating and $800 target and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) with an Accumulate rating.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Genentech, HSBC Holdings, Suntech Power, SunPower and Force Protection were today's noteworthy initiations:
UBS is positive on Genentech Inc's (NYSE: DNA) leading industry franchises and potential upside from development projects and started shares with a Buy rating and $101 target.
HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) was assumed with a Reduce rating at WestLB, as the firm believes subprime concerns may hold back shares in the near-term.
Jefferies initiated shares of SunTech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) with a Buy rating and $45 target. The firm believes the company is positioned to beat 2007 and 2008 expectations by ramping manufacturing capacity and production faster than expected.
Jefferies also resumed coverage of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) with a Hold rating and $90 target, citing valuation, but believes the stock's higher multiple is justified given the company's superior growth potential.
Force Protection Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and Friedman Billings, as they believe near-term production expectations are too high given emerging DOD funding issues.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Lehman started shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) with an Overweight rating.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Suntech Power (STP), MetroPCS (PCS), Micron Tech (MU) and Charles River Labs (CRL) were today's noteworthy initiations:
JP Morgan initiated shares of Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) with a Neutral rating, citing valuation. The firm prefers the stock to peers given the company's larger scale, solid supplier relationships and exposure to new technologies.
William Blair believes Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) is the best pure-play investment in preclinical development given its dominant franchise in animal disease models, and started shares with an Outperform rating.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Gabelli initiated shares of Tenaris SA (NYSE: TS) with a Buy rating and $68 target.
RBC Capital started shares of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) with a Sector Perform rating and $39 target.
CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA) was started at ThinkEquity with a Buy rating and $11 target.
Suntrust started shares of Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) with a Neutral rating.
Hoku Scientific Inc (NASDAQ: HOKU) subsidiary, Hoku Materials, just signed a pact with SunTech Power Holdings Co Ltd (NYSE: STP) wherein Hoku will sell and deliver polysilicon to Suntech beginning in mid-2009. The deal, which was announced yesterday after the markets closed, has sent the stock skyrocketing up nearly 60% to $7.97 in after-hours trading. SunTech closed yesterday at $32.28 and later gained 9c in the extended trading. Shares of Hoku and SunTech are currently trading up $7.38, or up 60.65%, and at $33.00, or up 2.11%, respectively.
The $678M agreement, which has a 10-year term and also allows either company to opt out of the last two years, provides for the delivery of polysilicon, used to make solar energy panels, at set prices. This deal follows an agreement in January between Hoku and Sanyo Electric Co Ltd (OTC: SANYY) that may bring an additional $370M in payments to the materials science company.
Hoku is currently in the process of building a $220M polysilicon production plant in Idaho in order to transition further into the solar industry. The plant will produce polysilicon for its own solar panel business, creating 200 jobs in the process, and will offer excess supply to the semiconductor market.
Analysts at investment bank Thomas Weisel believe this could be a good deal for Hoku, particularly amid its transition into the solar industry. The firm, however, is still concerned about Hoku's ability to raise $150M in debt financing, which it is seeking for the plant. Hoku believes it is currently on track with the plant, but if the company is unsuccessful in building the polysilicon plant or if it does not meet certain milestones with its products, the initial direct deposit must be returned to SunTech.
Stock screeners are tools that let investors filter through a large number of stocks according to chosen criteria. While helping investors pick stocks and narrow down options, it is important to remember that a stock screener is just a tool and every investment should be analyzed on its own merits to make sure it fits with your personal portfolio and risk characteristics. Welcome to my new weekly column that finds interesting investment opportunities with the help of our Stock Screener.
A quick recap: With all the talk lately about alternative energy, I wanted to see what the Power Generation & Storage industry has in store. Within the industry, I gave pretty wide criteria with the only constraints being a market capitalization of over $500 million and a profitable 2006.
John McNay, portfolio manager of Essex Investment Management, provided some good investment ideas on the evolving high-tech power business in this weekend's Barron's Magazine (subscription required). A few of these we blogged about in the past, but they're worth noting again.
Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR), the Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) spin off, makes semiconductors for solar cells and solar panels
MEMC Electronic Materials Inc (NYSE: WFR) makes the polysilicon that is needed to manufacture the solar cells and panels based on semiconductor technology
Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP), First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR), Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ) and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) were other stocks mentioned.
Sunpower and MEMC we have blogged about and know the companies reasonably well. The others you have to do your homework on, as these are new ideas to this Fly.
TJ Rodgers, Cypress Semiconductor's CEO, referred to Sunpower as Intel during the 1970s. That is a big statement. This is an important industry that will get a lot of investors' attention during the next five years. Solar energy utilizing semiconductor technology is an investment theme that is still in its very early stages.
Not that it needed any help, but it appears that the sun is getting a big surge of power. Well actually, it's solar stocks that are getting a jump start. With support from an article by Peter Lynch for www.Investorideas.com , I'm staying on the solar band wagon.
Many of our readers know that I've been up on this solar game for a while now, especially those oil heavy fund managers who have been laughing at me from Wall Street. I hear that laughter and I'm reminded of the billions of dollars lost in natural gas options this past year. Yes, it's a tough world in the energy game and I believe that for those who refuse to get in step, it's going to get tougher still.
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Not that it needed any help, but it appears that the sun is getting a big surge of power. Well actually, it's solar stocks that are getting a jump start. With support from an article by Peter Lynch for 
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