Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Will Suntech, Largest Solar Maker, Shares Get Wiped Out? Analyst Sets $0 Target (STP)

From Eric Savitz at Forbes:
 Are shares of the Chinese solar company Suntech headed for oblivion?

That would be a startling outcome for the company that is the world’s largest producer of solar panels, with 2011 revenues of $3.1 billion. But the stock continues to ratchet lower, and lower and lower. Aaron Chew, an analyst with Maxim Group, this morning cut his target price on the stock to zero – that’s nada, zilch, nothing – from 50 cents. He maintains his Sell rating on the company.

Today, the stock is down 29 cents, or 21.6%, to $1.05. The slide following Suntech’s announcement on Monday that it may have been the victim of a $690 million fraud related to an investment in a European company called Global Solar Fund. As my colleague Todd Woody noted yesterday, the fraud could hurt Suntech’s ability to pay or refinance $541 million convertible notes that come due in March 2013. In 2008, Suntech took at 80% stake in Global Solar, a company created to invest in solar energy projects. Suntech CEO Zhengrong Shi, took a 10% stake. The other 10% is held by GSF Capital, a company controlled by Javier Romero, who at one point was involved in the sale of the company’s products in Spain....MORE
Previously:
Suntech May Have Been the Victim of a €560 million Scam (STP)