Solar stocks lose shine in Wall Street sell off

By Peter Thompson. Published on May 22, 2008 This post currently has no comments.

Solar stocks took a considerable dive on US stock markets today after several weeks of gains. Even though oil hit $135 per barrel at one stage, the high cost of this commodity failed to keep investor interest in the solar sector.

The recent resurgence of interest in solar stocks faltered in a dramatic way today as investors fled from this sector. Significant falls in share prices were registered by many of the solar stocks.

First Solar (FSLR) was one of the biggest casualties as it shed $8.02 (2.87%) to close at $271.43. FSLR were trading at $311.77 on 16th May and have therefore lost around $40 in just over a week.

A recent darling of the sector, Solarfun Power Holdings (SOLF) didn’t escape the sell off either as it lost $5.85 - a staggering 22.09% of its value. This is around two thirds of the gain that this stock has made in May.

Other solar stocks such as LDK Solar Ltd (LDK) showed more resilience, losing 2.12% of it’s value. This is a stock that has not enjoyed such large gains as SOLF recently.

So with market sentiment moving away from solar stocks, at least for now, it remains to be seen how this sector will fair in the next few trading days.

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