Your Thoughts on a solar company

[dcman401]

Hey Guys, I posted on here awhile back but have been inactive for quite some time. I always keep up to date with mrmarket's picks, and do frequenctly view the forum. But since I came across something interesting I figured I'd post, and get some more opinions on it.

Awhile back I remember reading about JBII on here....(Can't believe it lasted as long as it did lol)...Quarter of a billion dollar market cap with no revenue, pretty amazing. But it got me looking at some lesser known companies. And that is how I ended up checking out this solar company.

I wanted to get your thoughts on Akeena Solar...now DBA Westinghouse solar, symbol WEST. I don't want to say too much about it, because I want everyone forming their own opinions. So feel free to look it up and let me know what you think.

My last thread on here I believe was about SOMX when it was trading around a dollar or two and share and then popped to around $7-8. Hopefully together we can find the next big winner. Thanks Everyone!!!

[mrmarket]

Hey Guys, I posted on here awhile back but have been inactive for quite some time. I always keep up to date with mrmarket's picks, and do frequenctly view the forum. But since I came across something interesting I figured I'd post, and get some more opinions on it.

Awhile back I remember reading about JBII on here....(Can't believe it lasted as long as it did lol)...Quarter of a billion dollar market cap with no revenue, pretty amazing. But it got me looking at some lesser known companies. And that is how I ended up checking out this solar company.

I wanted to get your thoughts on Akeena Solar...now DBA Westinghouse solar, symbol WEST. I don't want to say too much about it, because I want everyone forming their own opinions. So feel free to look it up and let me know what you think.

My last thread on here I believe was about SOMX when it was trading around a dollar or two and share and then popped to around $7-8. Hopefully together we can find the next big winner. Thanks Everyone!!!

I'll like it a lot more when crude oil goes back to $150.

[dcman401]

I'll like it a lot more when crude oil goes back to $150.

Very True....I'm sure people would take solar more seriously then.

[edward]

A solar play that I like is Natcore, an American company listed on the TSX Venture exchange and now partnered with the Chinese. They have the rights to some seemingly cutting-edge technology that could change the whole cost structure of solar energy. NXT - check it out for yourselves.

[Peter Hansen]

DC Cool Your Jets.

DC Man most of these penny stocks that are on foreign excahnges and pink sheets are PUMP & DUMPS!
According to one Post on the internet NXT is a classic Pump & Dump. Wait till the Dump and then buy! Read this

"PUMP IS OVER?





I guess the pump is over, now for the dump. Go through the news, not much here of value if you ask me. Wait for 70 cents again then buy back. This repeats the same cycle over and over check the chart. Hype then sell-off."

I hope this helps ...why buy now and get mugged by the sharks?

[edward]

I really don't see Natcore as a pump and dump. It goes up, it goes down, what doesn't? It's got a licence for some revolutionary technology that is moving towards reality and, as a result, it's getting some press. I've bought a few times since the beginning of May and have a 20%+ gain so far. Natcore's CEO is now an adviser to the President. How bad for business can that be?

[dcman401]

DC Man most of these penny stocks that are on foreign excahnges and pink sheets are PUMP & DUMPS!
According to one Post on the internet NXT is a classic Pump & Dump. Wait till the Dump and then buy! Read this

"PUMP IS OVER?





I guess the pump is over, now for the dump. Go through the news, not much here of value if you ask me. Wait for 70 cents again then buy back. This repeats the same cycle over and over check the chart. Hype then sell-off."

I hope this helps ...why buy now and get mugged by the sharks?

Just for clarification WEST is part of the NASDAQ.

And I agree with you about lots of those penny stocks. They are good for a one night stand, but not relationship material...(might have butchered that saying). And I don't trust statements from CEO's claiming ground breaking technology. WEST I like because they have solid revenue, new distribution deals, and a CEO from Wharton....MrMarket has to like that one. Also, they are predicting to see a profit in the near future. So there are some fundamentals behind this one.

[Peter Hansen]

Wstl

How about this Tech Stock .......sweet chart for WSTL .......check it out!

I could not get a chart for WEST beyond 5 days on Yahoo Finance . Here is a comaprison of WEST and WSTL over the past 5 days . Past performance is never a guarantee of future performance ......but for my money I'll take WSTL!

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=WEST+Interactive#chart2:symbol=west;range=5d;compare=wstl;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

[dcman401]

How about this Tech Stock .......sweet chart for WSTL .......check it out!

I could not get a chart for WEST beyond 5 days on Yahoo Finance . Here is a comaprison of WEST and WSTL over the past 5 days . Past performance is never a guarantee of future performance ......but for my money I'll take WSTL!
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=W...urce=undefined

Charts don't really interest me. The only thing I like about charts is I can see how much money I've made!!!!....or how much I could have made and didn't.

But here are the main reasons I like WEST.

1. Smart CEO. (Harvard and Wharton) and has been in the industry for over 30 years.
2. Roughly $32 million market cap...of which CEO owns about 25%. So he has a VERY large stake in the company.
3. New distribution deals with Lowes. Was said to only be California Lowes stores, but during the conference call if you listen carefully you will hear that there are some outside of California as well.
4. Last quarter had $9 million in revenue, and guidance to be profitable by Q4.
5. Robert F. Kennedy Jr appointed to board of advisors. He now has a financial stake in the company, and should bring them some good connections. (about 200,000 shares/year diluted due to this, but overall I take this as a positive)

Here is what I don't like.
1. Cost of panels. Roughly $25-35k installed in a 3 bedroom house in California. (California incentives plus governemt rebate does reduce final cost by about 40%) So installed a home owner would be looking at $10-14k.
2. Possible technology worries. Why invest $10-14k on a solar system, that takes 5-7 years before actually saving you money, when a new and better system could come out in 3 months? (Just a worry I would have as a buyer)
3. They have missed guidance once before, and doing so again could really hurt the reputation of the company.

Those are pretty much my thoughts on the company. Of course i expect the price to go up when oil prices increase (they will eventually). Also, a smart CEO who missed guidence once, won't miss it again. They have been touting this Q4 turn to profitability for quite some time, so if they come through we will see a nice boost there. Also, I believe there are market inefficiencies with this company. Not many analyst cover it, and it's pretty off the radar. So it could be priced much lower than it should be. A lot more can be dicussed but those are some main pointers I felt would be useful in sharing.

Let me know what you think. I think collectivley if we give this one a long solid look we may be able to find something here good or bad.

[mrmarket]

WEST isn't profitable. That doesn't mean its stock won't go up or that it won't be profitable someday. What it does mean is I see safer, more proven investments out there for my money. But that's just me and my investing style.

Good luck!

[dcman401]

WEST isn't profitable. That doesn't mean its stock won't go up or that it won't be profitable someday. What it does mean is I see safer, more proven investments out there for my money. But that's just me and my investing style.

Good luck!

Yeah, it is a speculation play for sure. I think a BIG factor that will determine if it's successful or not will be if it becomes profitable in Q4 has guidance suggests. If they can do that I believe the stock is highly under valued. If they miss and aren't even close to becoming profitable, then there could be some issues.

Thanks for your thoughts though...and btw I still don't know how I missed out on priceline. Buying around 260 originally I wasn't a big fan of, but after dropping below 190 it was a steal, still kickin myself on that one...