Historically, tumultuous times offer some of the best opportunities to buy stocks, and the market's recent mess surely qualifies. And though alternative energy player Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq: ENER) has seen its stock continue to trend down this year, many investors expect better times ahead.

In our Motley Fool CAPS community, about 92% of the 1,292 investors rating the company are bullish, so there's no shortage of reasons why Energy Conversion Devices will thrive, three of which I've highlighted below.

But here at The Motley Fool, we're all for looking at both the good and bad sides of an investment. Once you're done with this article, you can read the case against the stock then weigh in with your comments below or rate Energy Conversion Devices in CAPS.

1. Increasing sales
While wafer maker MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR) fell short of Wall Street's first-quarter expectations, Energy Conversion Devices surpassed analysts' fiscal-third-quarter estimates with a lower-than-expected loss. Despite a large non-cash writedown, it increased revenues nearly 10% over last year and 36% over the previous quarter, which has some investors bullish on its momentum for the remainder of the year.

2. Filling the pipeline
Despite fears of European subsidy cuts, signs show that demand in the solar sector remains strong. Energy Conversion Devices has built a project pipeline to more than 200 megawatts at the end of its most recent quarter, and a pickup in orders has other solar companies making moves to address demand, too. Chinese firm JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO) upped its full-year guidance earlier this year and plans to boost spending while Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF) aims to increase capacity.

3. Turnaround play
Some CAPS members are eyeing Energy Conversion Devices' beaten-down shares as an opportunity to place bets on a turnaround, and the sentiment among other solar companies has helped boost some investors' confidence. Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) has seen strength in multiple markets, while Renesola (NYSE: SOL) said its second-quarter revenues and shipments topped its previous guidance. First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) is among several others that have sold out production for 2010.

To see details of what CAPS members are saying now about Energy Conversion Devices, just click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look -- or add your own thoughts directly to this story in the comments box below.