Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of solar panel manufacturer Yingli Green Energy (ADR) (NYSE: YGE) dropped as much as 12% today after raising doubts about its future survival.
So what: Yingli Green Energy's recently filed 20-F annual filing included the dreaded line, "There is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern." A third consecutive year of losses and $2.1 billion in debt has finally brought up real concern that the company can't survive very long into the future.
Now what: The risk of borrowing billions of dollars to build manufacturing facilities in China is finally hitting investors and I don't think Yingli will last much longer. I've been discussing that risk for years (see articles here, here, or here) and I just don't see how Yingli could make enough money to pay back debts and leave a profit for shareholders. This is a stock I would stay far, far away from because there are much better ways to play the booming solar market today.
