After evaluating the EPA's new clean power plan and participating in a white House briefing on the issue, Roth Capital says that the rule is positive for the solar sector. The firm says that the rule could boost the solar sector following the possible expiration of a major solar tax credit and could increase the chances of the tax credit being extended. However, the firm warns that a Republican president could decide not to enforce the new rule starting in 2017, while litigation is also expected to be launched against the rule. However, the firm says that the rule should increase the momentum of solar stocks. Publicly traded companies in the space include Canadian Solar (CSIQ), First Solar (FSLR), JA Solar (JASO), SunPower (SPWR), Trina Solar (TSL) and Yingli Green Energy (YGE).

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).

As previously reported, Evercore ISI analyst Sean Morgan upgraded First Solar to Outperform from In Line with an unchanged price target of $227. The market is expecting the Biden administration to remove a trade exemption for bifacial solar modules imported to the U.S., which now represent about 98% of U.S. solar imports, the analyst noted. Solar panel imports skyrocketed in 2023 to 54GW and some market participants have stated that reliance on imports and oversupply are negatively impacting solar domestic factories, which have been a priority for the current U.S. administration, putting pressure on greater U.S. trade protections and policy support, the analyst added.

Evercore ISI analyst Sean Morgan upgraded First Solar to Outperform from In Line with a $227 price target.