(SPWR) - SunPower Corp - tripled solar cell manufacturing capacity over the past year

SPWR has blown away earnings estimates in each of the four quarters in which it has been public. The average suprise has exceeded 80%. Four analysts have raised their forecasts for both this year and next. 2007 earnings estimates have increased 12 cents to 78 cents per share. The stock is trading at 56x 2007 estimates, compared to its long-term growth rate of 35.20%. Full Analysis SunPower Corporation (SPWR) engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of solar electric power products. It offers solar cells, solar panels, and inverters that generate electricity from sunlight for residential, commercial, and remote power applications. The company’s solar cells are semiconductor devices that directly convert sunlight into electricity. Its solar cell product includes A-300 solar cell, a silicon solar cell with a specified power value of 3.1 watts. SPWR also offers imaging detectors that are back contact light sensor arrays for medical imaging applications, as well as infrared detectors that are semiconductors, which detect light signals primarily for use in computing and mobile phone applications. SPWR swung to a third-quarter profit on a huge sales gain. The company posted earnings of $9.6 million, or 13 cents per share, versus a year-ago loss of $1.6 million. Analysts only expected 10 cents per share. Quarterly sales climbed 19% to $65.3 million from $21.9 million a year ago. Tom Werner, SunPower's CEO, said, "We posted another strong quarter with operating results that exceeded our announced objectives. We saw excellent execution across the company, with significant progress on a number of fronts. SunPower has tripled solar cell manufacturing capacity over the past year and we plan to more than double that capacity by the end of next year while rapidly expanding our panel manufacturing in parallel. We have entered into a joint venture to construct and operate a new silicon ingot manufacturing facility in Korea. Our R&D group is establishing a formidable intellectual property position. Our marketing team is leveraging SunPower's industry-leading technology to deliver our customers highly differentiated products that combine superior performance with a more attractive appearance." SPWR has blown away earnings estimates in each of the four quarters in which it has been public. The average suprise has exceeded 80%. Four analysts have raised their forecasts for both this year and next. 2007 earnings estimates have increased 12 cents to 78 cents per share. The stock is trading at 56x 2007 estimates, compared to its long-term growth rate of 35.20%. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home