JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster finds it encouraging that SunPower (SPWR) said it does not expect demand to slow in FY17 and is already filling its order book for FY18. SunPower remains one of the analyst's top Alternative Energy picks following its Q4 results. He points out that a company spokesperson described FY18 as the beginning of a potential "golden age for solar." The strong Q4 results from SunPower and Canadian Solar (CSIQ) should "buoy investor sentiment" relating to higher quality solar stocks, Coster tells investors. He keeps an Overweight rating on SunPower with a $36 price target.

SunPower told employees today it was eliminating 1,000 positions, more than 25% of its workforce. In a letter to staff, Tom Werner stated: "I'm writing to share difficult news with you as we implement changes across our organization in the days and weeks to come. To position SunPower for the future, we need to achieve financial viability, which includes simplifying our business structure, transitioning away from areas where we have been unable to sustain profitable operations, and improving financial controls. As such, we are moving to a low fixed-cost model that we believe we will be able to better flex when the market is up or down. Specifically, we are winding down our SunPower Residential Installation locations and closing SunPower Direct sales. We are also reducing our workforce to better align our business with our new focus. With this shift, we will reduce our workforce by approximately 1,000 people in the coming days and weeks. While we worked hard to avoid this outcome, the market has been slower to recover than we initially expected. Additionally, we have dedicated resources to improving our financial controls, and will continue to do so. We believe this shift in our strategy is necessary to safeguard the company's future." Reference Link

Wells Fargo notes that a group of seven domestic solar product makers, including First Solar (FSLR), filed a petition to levy anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, looking for duties ranging from 70.4% to 271.5%. The firm, which included the "important reminder" that "this is just a petition," says the uncertainty created by the petition is "incrementally positive" for First Solar and negative for Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Array Technologies (ARRY) and Nextracker (NXT).