Before the Call: Ready, ReneSola?

Solar power is hot, hot, hot, and the stock of Chinese silicon-wafer maker ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) is no exception. Since going public at $13 a stub in late January, the stock has run up 66%. Will tomorrow's earnings report keep the run going?

We'll have time aplenty to dissect the specific numbers after the news arrives. But before we begin obsessing over ReneSola's short-term progress, let's use these last few hours to review what investors think about it as a long-term investment. Our tool in this endeavor is Motley Fool CAPS, where we poll more than 100,000 investors for their views on more than 5,600 companies. Here's what Fools have to say about the company and its long-term prospects.

Up or down?
This little stock has already garnered 200 ratings on CAPS. Our players' verdict: Here comes the sun!              

Some 94% of CAPS investors who registered an opinion expect ReneSola to beat the market from this point on. Then again, that's hardly an uncommon sentiment in the solar industry, where ReneSola's four CAPS stars (out of a possible five) put it squarely in the middle of the pack:

Wall Street vs. Main Street
Let's see, 200 ratings out of a field of 100,000 potential raters? Hmm. Seems very few investors have caught onto this stock's existence. Likewise on Wall Street, where only four analysts follow the company. But they're just as bullish as the rest of us. Both of the analysts who've taken affirmative buy/sell positions on the stock think ReneSola's a winner.

Bull pitch
There's no doubt about it. The solar power field is starting to feel a bit crowded. Fortunately, CAPS is here to help us cull the winners from the losers, and north01301 makes a strong case that ReneSola belongs in the former group:

Now and for some years demand is likely to outstrip supply of solar wafers. Renesola will expand production by nearly 90% over 2007 level by year end 2008. They have started building more facility space for monocrystalline silicon production and have begun manufacture of polycrystalline silicon. Offering to the market price and choice. They have solid contracts for raw materials for their manufacture of solar wafers. They have solid contracts for selling their solar wafers. They are [innovative] in the recycling of different types of scrap wafers and polysilicon ...

Bear pitch
ImmortalThanos voices one possible explanation for ReneSola's slump:

Expect Renesola to drop off further with the housing market slump. Most of their products go to the production [of] new homes ... or the upgrading of current ones. With the housing market in the crapper ... don't expect movement for the next couple of years.

Who said that?
To learn more about the wise Fools who penned these words, to examine their records (and see whether they know whereof they speak), and to explore the plethora of additional financial data we've put together on the company, just click here.