Evergreen Solar shares fall on stock downgrade
Shares of Marlboro, Mass.-based solar products maker Evergreen Solar
Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR) are sagging following a downgrade this morning by Merriman Curhan Ford to “neutral” from “buy.”
The downgrade followed earnings news on Tuesday, in addition to announcements that the company plans to build a $150 million facility in Massachusetts, and will be receiving an investment from Korean chemicals producer DC Chemical Co. Ltd.
Shares were down $0.88, or 7.4%, to $11.02. They have traded between $6.97 (on Jan. 10) and $16.25 (on April 26, 2006) in the past year.
The company made several announcements on Tuesday, including the release of its first- quarter financial results. Evergreen Solar recorded a net loss of $6.2 million, or $0.09 per share, on revenue of $14 million for the quarter ended March 31. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting a net loss of $0.11 per share on revenue of $13.6 million.
On Tuesday, Evergreen Solar also said it plans to build a $150 million facility on the campus of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in Westborough, Mass. The facility will increase Evergreen Solar's production capacity in Massachusetts by 70 megawatts and double its employee base in the state to more than 600.
Also on Tuesday, the company announced that DC Chemical has agreed to make an investment in the company, and that the two have signed a multi-year polysilicon supply agreement.
DC Chemical agreed to buy 3 million shares of Evergreen common stock for $12.07 each, and Evergreen agreed to issue 4.5 million shares of restricted common stock and 625 shares of restricted preferred stock to DC Chemical.
