Lennar (NYSE: LEN) has had one of the most impressive rebounds of all the home builders. The stock has been up as much as 340% since bottoming last November.

Wall Street's current consensus for Lennar's earnings this year is a loss of $2.88. In my opinion, that's too low. I think Lennar will have little trouble surprising Wall Street analysts later this year.

Lennar is a good momentum buy.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was hit incredibly hard by the housing bust. The stock fell from $82 to just $7 per share. We haven't seen shakeouts like that since the tech bust.

Unlike some of the other home builders, KBH probably hit bottom early. The company's loss from last year wasn't as bad as its loss from 2007, and that's a good sign.

What I also like about KB Home is that the stock's volatility has calmed down, which is often the result of heavy institutional buying.

D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) saw its earnings-per-share plunge from a profit of $3.90 in 2006 to a staggering loss of $8.34 last year. Fortunately, the worst is behind us. This year D.R. Horton will probably lose about $1 per share.

I don't like to see any loss, but this is a huge improvement. In fact, I think there's even a good chance D.R. Horton could start posting some earnings gains by next year.

D.R. Horton is also a buy.

Next: Home builder stock #3

NVR (NYSE: NVR) is probably the healthiest of all the major home builders. In fact, the company hasn't taken a single annual loss yet. The company reported a quarterly loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, but all of the other quarters have recorded a profit.

Even though NVR is a fairly small company (market value of nearly $4 billion), the stock carries a very high price. The shares are currently over $660 a piece, which is even higher than Google.

The past few years haven't been what you might call a happy time for shares of home building stocks. Consider that the Homebuilders Exchange-Traded Fund (NYSE: XHB) plunged from $40 per share in early 2007 to just $8 per share earlier this year.

Since March, however, things have improved. There are signs that the housing market is getting back on its feet -- or at least, declining less slowly. Existing home sales recently registered their biggest gain in more than a decade. Seasonally-adjusted single-family building permits are up 27% since bottoming in March, while single-family housing starts have increased five straight months and are up 36% since March.

China-based Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) is one of China's top stocks. The country's largest solar panel maker recently took steps to increase its hold on the Chinese solar market when it reached an agreement with a unit of China Huadian Corp. to develop 500MW of solar projects in China.

The collaboration between Suntech and China Huadian New Energy Development Co. could include some of the 1.8 gigawatts of Chinese projects Suntech recently announced. According to the company, the projects resulting from those agreements could be installed between 2010 and 2012. This deal means a solid pipeline of earnings for the solar maker, and that could translate into solid earnings going forward.

On July 24, Northern California-based SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) stunned the Street with a red-hot earnings beat. For Q2, SunPower reported earnings of 24 cents per share, beating consensus by 10 cents. Revenues rose 39% year-over-year to $298 million versus the $263 million consensus. The company also issued upside guidance for fiscal year 2009, seeing EPS of $1.15 to $1.60, compared to the consensus of 96 cents.

In a really bullish sign for SunPower going forward, the company also reiterated its 2009 capex guidance of $250 million to $300 million.

Also reporting after the close on July 30 was Arizona-based First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR). Now these guys had a blowout quarter!

The company reported net income more than doubled in the second quarter, easily beating consensus Street estimates. In Q2, net income was $180.6 million, or $2.11 per share, compared with $69.7 million, or 85 cents per share, a year ago. The word on the Street was for earnings of just $1.65 per share.

After the closing bell on July 30, Massachusetts-based Evergreen Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR) reported second-quarter revenues of $63.8 million, compared to $55.8 million for the first quarter of 2009. The company's gross margin for the second quarter of 2009 was 1.9%, compared to 1.2% for the first quarter of 2009.

Unfortunately, these gross margins are way off the 34.7% we saw in the second quarter of 2008.

Several high-profile solar companies recently reported earnings, and although these companies posted mixed results for the most recent quarter, there's no denying that Wall Street has been turning its face toward the sun and bidding up the shares of solar stocks.

So, what's the latest earnings front from stocks in the solar space, and why do the shares of some of the hottest solar stocks continue to shine? More importantly, should you own solar stocks right now, and if so, which ones should you make room for in your portfolio?

On Tuesday, July 21, brewing behemoth Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) bested Wall Street earnings estimates for the second quarter. The Seattle-based coffee giant reported earnings of $151.5 million in the period, driven by cost-cutting efforts and the downsizing of underperforming stores. Starbucks has now closed at 676 U.S. locations and almost 100 abroad.

For years, Starbucks was the darling of Wall Street. It seemed to do no wrong. The shares vaulted from less than 70 cents a piece in 1992 to $40 by 2006. But Starbucks wasn't managing its growth very well, and they opened too many stores far too quickly. As a result, shareholders paid the price.

On Tuesday, July 28, the Northern California-based Peet's Coffee & Tea (NASDAQ: PEET) reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates.

The company cited a combination of tighter cost controls and higher sales at its specialty business as chief reasons for the better-than-expected results.

For the second quarter ended June 28, net income rose to $3.4 million, or 26 cents per share, from $3 million, or 21 cents per share, one year ago. Revenue rose 5% to $73.6 million.

As the name suggests, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) is based in the pastoral state of Vermont. The company offers about 180 varieties of coffee, cocoa, and tea, which it sells to wholesale customers including supermarkets, convenience stores, resorts, and office delivery services.

Some of its biggest customers are ExxonMobil's convenience stores and McDonald's restaurants. In September, Green Mountain acquired Tully's Coffee, which has been chipping away at Starbucks' dominance in the Pacific Northwest.

Talk about piping hot, how about Diedrich Coffee Inc. (NASDAQ: DDRX)? The company's shares have been steaming higher for quite awhile now, and recently received an extra shot of potential buyers.

On June 26, the roaster and wholesaler of fine coffees was added to the small-cap Russell 2000 Index. Making it into the Russell 2000 means many indexed ETFs and mutual funds had to put DDRX shares in their portfolio.

Caribou Coffee Company Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOU) is perhaps the least well known of the coffee stocks, but that shouldn't deter you from taking a sip from their cup. The Minneapolis-based company is the second largest company-owned gourmet coffeehouse operator in the United States, based on the number of coffeehouses.

At the end of Q1, Caribou Coffee had 515 coffeehouses, including 101 franchised locations. The company offers high-quality gourmet coffee and espresso-based beverages, as well as specialty teas, baked goods, whole bean coffee, branded merchandise, and related products.