Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) recently posted its first profit in nine quarters but the 700% rally in its shares in just one year is alarming (this was a $2 stock last year). Earnings were fantastic for Trina, but could competition hurt future growth? The company has been helped by a bigger presence in Europe thanks to trade agreements with China and stronger margins from Japan. While many were focused on Trina's earnings, First Solar (FSLR +1.28%) quietly upped its investment to operate solar power plants in Japan, a move I feel should have Trina looking over its shoulders. Also, First Solar's new relationship with General Electric (GE +2.18%) forged in August can't be overlooked, especially with access to General Electric's sales force as part of deal that could present more synergistic opportunities for both parties than was assumed when the partnership was first announced.
Move to partner with General Electric makes this solar name more of a global threat on Trina's home turf
About the Author
John Licata is the Founder & Chief Energy Strategist of Blue Phoenix Inc. and the author of “Lessons from Frankenstorm: Investing for Future Power Disruptions”, a 2013 Wiley e-book on the future of energy post Sandy. His ability to cross-pollinate idea generation and analysis of both traditional and unconventional global energy markets has been documented in the global media for north of a decade by the likes of Bloomberg, CNBC, BNN, Yahoo! Finance, Reuters Insider and Fox Business Channel.
John is a proven Strategist with over fifteen years of commodity research experience and unique content creation which has made him a highly sought out public speaker for viewpoints related to the future of energy. Prior to launching Blue Phoenix Inc. in 2005, John held research and trading positions at Dow Jones, Salomon Smith Barney, BrokerageAmerica and on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
John graduated from Saint Peter’s University with a B.S. in Economics and he received his M.B.A. from the Executive MBA Program at NYU’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.