One recent trend over the past few days among analysts has been to modify their price targets on sun energy specialist SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG -7.28%).
No less than four pundits tracking the fortunes of the solar company did so in the space of barely over 72 hours. This helped raise the stock's price by 9% week to date as of late Friday morning, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
A quartet of raises
On Monday, Susquehanna's Biju Perincheril got the ball rolling with a significant increase, as he raised his fair-value assessment on SolarEdge. His new level is $40 per share, well up from the previous $25.
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Over the next three days, BMO Capital's Ameet Thakkar, Mark Strouse from J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley's Andrew Percoco followed suit. Thakkar upped his SolarEdge price target only slightly to $19 per share from $16, Strouse moved to $29 from $27, and Percoco adjusted to $25 from $17.
The SolarEdge rally might have been more robust had any of the four analysts recommended the stock as a buy. Instead, all retained their existing ratings; for Perincheril and Strouse, this is neutral, and for the other two, it's the equivalent of sell.
Sunny outlooks? Not quite
SolarEdge's equity has been on something of a tear lately. It's been buoyed by better-than-expected second-quarter results, lower interest rates, and updates to federal law that were not as unfavorable as some feared (even beneficial, in certain ways). Yet this is a highly cyclical industry that, as ever, struggles to make a profit, so I'd be hesitant to approach sector stocks like this one.
