Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now

Chinese solar companies have been reporting massive losses, but one company has improved its financial performance and strategic position significantly over the past year. In the following video, solar analyst Travis Hoium covers why he thinks Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) is a likely candidate to emerge from Chinese solar consolidation, even better than big names such as Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL  ) . If the company is able to return to profitability, the sky is the limit for Canadian Solar.�

Another home run investing opportunity in energy has been slipping under Wall Street's radar for months. But it won't stay hidden much longer. Forward-thinking energy players such as General Electric and Ford have already plowed sizable amounts of research capital into this little-known stock ... because they know it holds the key to the explosive profit power of the coming "no choice fuel revolution." Luckily, there's still time for you to get on board if you act quickly. All the details are inside an exclusive report from The Motley Fool. Click here for the full story!

Top Tech Companies To Buy For 2015: Peabody Energy Corporation(BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in the mining of coal. It mines, prepares, and sells thermal coal to electric utilities and metallurgical coal to industrial customers. The company owns interests in 30 coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia, as well as owns joint venture interest in a Venezuela mine. It is also involved in marketing, brokering, and trading coal. In addition, the company develops a mine-mouth coal-fueled generating plant; and Btu Conversion projects that are designed to convert coal to natural gas or transportation fuels; and clean coal technologies. As of December 31, 2011, it had 9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Coal stocks are taking it on the chin today after being hit by two body blows over the weekend. Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR  ) , Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI  ) , and Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) all fell 10% or more at some point today.

• [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

  At first I thought my eyes deceived me, but after reading deeper, Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) actually turned a profit this quarter. Thanks to a few one-time items, the company unearthed $0.33 per share in earnings this past quarter versus the expected loss of $0.05 per share analysts had buried the company under. Not to be outdone, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) beat earnings predictions as well.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The price of natural gas, however, has dropped 0.4% today, and wouldn’t you know it, coal stocks are weak. Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) has dropped 4.2% to $16.15, while Peabody Energy (BTU) has fallen 2.9% to $17.27. Arch Coal (ACI) is off 1.3% at $4.45, Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) has declined 1.4% to $5.76 and Consol Energy (CNX) has dipped 0.7% to $31.35.

• [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

  After a rough year in 2012, coal companies hope that they could bounce back a bit this year. In the latest deal between utilities and the coal industry, Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK  ) has agreed to purchase between 1.7 million and 1.9 million short tons of coal from Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) .

Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now: DAQQ New Energy Corp.(DQ)

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon in China. The company sells its polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers for use in the processing of ingots, wafers, cells and modules for solar power solutions. It also produces and sells mono-crystalline and multi-crystalline modules to photovoltaic system integrators and distributors in China and internationally under its Daqo brand. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. Daqo New Energy Corp. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered Wanzhou, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ) shares gained 12.78% to $33.58 on quarterly results.

  SINA (NASDAQ: SINA) rose 7.26% to $51.29 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results.

• [By Ali Berri]

  In trading on Friday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.42 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), up 9.4 percent, and Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP), up 6.2 percent.
  

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Energy shares dropped around 0.22 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), PDC Energy (NASDAQ: PDCE), and YPF SA (NYSE: YPF).

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Energy shares dropped around 0.22 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), PDC Energy (NASDAQ: PDCE), and YPF SA (NYSE: YPF).

Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now: Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited(YGE)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and installation of photovoltaic (PV) products in the People?s Republic of China and internationally. The company offers PV cells, PV modules, and integrated PV systems, as well as polysilicon ingots, blocks, and wafers. It sells its PV modules to distributors, wholesalers, power plant developers and operators, and PV system integrators in Germany, the United States, Italy, China, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan under the Yingli and Yingli Solar brand names. The company also offers its integrated PV systems directly to end-users or to contractors for use in the electricity projects, as well as to mobile communications companies in the People's Republic of China. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Baoding, the People? s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sid Riggs]

  Companies such as Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ), SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), Trina Solar Limited (ADR) (NYSE: TSL), JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd (NYSE: JKS), and Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) have seen their shares explode 1,181%, 755%, 637%, 628%, and 420%, respectively, over the same time frame.

Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now: First Solar Inc.(FSLR)

First Solar, Inc. manufactures and sells solar modules using a thin-film semiconductor technology. It also designs, constructs, and sells photovoltaic solar power systems. The company?s solar modules employ a thin layer of semiconductor material to convert sunlight into electricity. Its integrated solar power systems activities include the project development; engineering, procurement, and construction services; operating and maintenance services; and project finance. The company sells solar modules to project developers, system integrators, and operators of renewable energy projects; and solar power systems to investor owned utilities, independent power developers and producers, and commercial and industrial companies, as well as other system owners. It operates in the United States, Germany, France, Canada, and internationally. The company was formerly known as First Solar Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to First Solar, Inc. in 2006. First Solar was founded in 1999 a nd is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Being welcomed back to the best-performers list after a brief absence is U.S. solar panel maker First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR  ) which tacked on 7.8% for the day. The impetus behind the strong upward move appears to be yesterday's coverage initiated by JPMorgan�which placed an "overweight" rating and a $64 price target, and Maxim Group's upgrade to "hold" from "sell." Like always, I wouldn't put too much weight behind these analyst ratings, because they're often just short-term share price drivers. Instead, investors should focus on First Solar's falling costs and growing competitive advantage over highly indebted Chinese solar panel manufacturers which could give it an edge moving forward.

Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now: Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd.(HSOL)

Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of silicon ingots, silicon wafers, and PV cells and modules. The company also offers mono crystalline and multi crystalline silicon cells; and provides PV module processing services. It sells its products to solar power system integrators and distributors primarily in Germany, Italy, Australia, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, and China. The company was formerly known as Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. in December 2010. Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Qidong, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: Hanwha SolarOne Co. (NASDAQ: HSOL) is down 13.9% at $4.36. D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is up 4.7% at $18.91 on good earnings boosted by land sales.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: Hanwha SolarOne Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL) is down 6.8% at $3.68. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is up 2.2% at $5.15.

  Stocks on the move: Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is up 9.3% at $21.74 after being adding to the S&P 500 index. BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) is up 6.4% at $11.53 on reports that a former board member has nearly lined up financing to take the company private. Molex Inc. (NASDAQ: MOLX) is up 31.6% at $38.60 following an agreement to be acquired by Koch Industries Inc.

Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now: LDK Solar Co. Ltd.(LDK)

LDK Solar Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) products; and development of power plant projects. It offers solar-grade and semiconductor-grade polysilicon; and multicrystalline and monocrystalline solar wafers to the manufacturers of solar cells and solar modules. The company also provides wafer processing services to monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cell and module manufacturers; and sells silicon materials, such as ingots and polysilicon scraps. In addition, it engages in the production and sale of solar cells and modules to developers, distributors, and system integrators; and design and development of solar power projects in Europe, the United States, and China, as well as provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. LDK Solar Co., Ltd. operates in Europe, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Xinyu City, t he People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: After a two-day run-up in solar stocks, the party ended quickly, and every stock in the industry is dropping like a rock. Suntech Power (NYSE: STP  ) led the declines by falling 23%, and LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK  ) , Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) , and JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO  ) all dropped at least 15%.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Thursday
  Solar-energy stocks are rising again, and LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK  ) will give alternative-energy investors a fresh snapshot on the state of solar on Thursday. Yes, the market's braced for a significant quarterly deficit, but we're talking about a lot less red ink than LDK Solar was sporting a year earlier.

• [By Gary Bourgeault]

  Other companies of note that will be hurt will be LDK Solar (LDK), Suntech Power (STP), JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (JASO) and Renesola (SOL) among others. Some these are already hanging on by a thread because of taking on too much debt and defaulting on bonds.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The state of the Chinese solar industry has grown increasingly dire recently, as Suntech Power defaulted on its bonds rather than receive an anticipated bailout from the Chinese government. LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK  ) has also faced big problems, having "partially defaulted" on bonds last month and negotiating a settlement with many of the bondholders. Yet although ReneSola has similar debt challenges, it was able to secure a $51 million loan from the China Development Bank, giving it more breathing room to try to work its way out of its financial troubles.

Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now: Canadian Solar Inc.(CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of solar power products in Canada and internationally. The company offers solar cell and solar module products that convert sunlight into electricity for various uses. Its products include a range of standard solar modules for use in a range of residential, commercial, and industrial solar power generation systems. The company also designs and produces specialty solar modules and products consisting of customized modules that its customers incorporate into their products, such as solar-powered bus stop lighting; and specialty products, such as portable solar home systems and solar-powered car battery chargers. In addition, it sells solar system kits, a package consisting of solar modules produced by it and third party supplied components, such as inverters, racking system, and other accessories, as well as implements solar power development projects. The company sells its products under the Canad ian Solar brand name. Canadian Solar Inc. offers its standard solar modules through a direct sales force and sales agents primarily to distributors, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturer customers, as well as to solar projects; and specialty solar modules and products to the automotive, telecommunications, and light-emitting diode lighting sectors. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Kitchener, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  After years of cheap natural gas eating photovoltaic�� lunch, solar stocks are back with a vengeance. Already, we��e seen better earnings from a host of hot solar stocks like First Solar (FSLR) and Canadian Solar (CSIQ). And now, its smaller solar stock ReneSola�� turn (SOL) … and SOL stock may just surprise investors.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS  ) �and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) have slightly better balance sheets and they're focusing on expanding into systems, which will smooth out demand. JinkoSolar has a $1 billion financing deal with the China Development Bank to build projects, not just manufacturing capacity, which will help demand. Canadian Solar has built a huge systems business in Canada, including a $310 million, 130 MW project last month, and signed 18 MW of deals in South Carolina last week. The systems business generates stable demand and allows companies to compete more than on price alone, which helps margins.�

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What's more important for the industry is that capacity expansion in China has stopped and it appears behavior is changing. It's no longer just about adding capacity; we've now changed focus to balance sheets and systems. For an example of how important projects have become we can look at Canadian Solar's (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) earnings announcement just yesterday that touted 400 MW of projects in Canada. Even Chinese companies are beginning to see the value in building and selling energy over just selling modules. �