Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, solar-wafer maker MEMC Electronic Materials
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at MEMC's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
MEMC Electronic facts
Headquarters (Founded) |
St. Peters, Mo. (1984) |
Market Cap |
$9.08 billion |
Industry |
Semiconductor equipment |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$2.04 billion |
Management |
CEO Nabeel Gareeb (Since 2002) |
Return on Capital (Average, Past Three Years) |
31.1% |
Major Competitors |
SunPower |
CAPS Members Bullish on WFR Also Bullish on: |
Suntech Power |
CAPS Members Bearish on WFR Also Bearish on: |
First Solar |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
Over on CAPS, fully 342 of the 366 All-Star members who have rated MEMC -- some 93% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include marc64 and angus118. In May, marc64 wrote:
[MEMC is a] real company, turning great profits, growing fast and sitting on a bunch of cash. The current [price-to-earnings ratio] does not reflect its growth. ... WFR looks like it's needing governments' help less and less. What's not to like?
A pitch from angus118 a day later agreed with that bullish sentiment, highlighting the stock as a powerful "poly play":
The rise of oil prices in recent years has led to increased demand for solar energy, which in turn has created a run-up in silicon prices that makes oil's climb look modest. In 2000 a kilogram of "polysilicon" could have been yours for $9. By the time of my first column on MEMC nearly four years ago, poly was up to about $30 a kilogram. By last November's column it had soared to $200. Now it's more than twice as expensive. That has been a boon for MEMC, which unlike many of its competitors makes most of its poly.
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