SolarEdge's stock shoots up toward record as analysts boosts target ahead of earnings
Shares of SolarEdge Technologies Inc. shot up 12.4% toward a record high in active midday trading Wednesday, after Cascend Securities Chief Investment Strategist Eric Ross raised his price target by 17% ahead of the solar power company's fourth-quarter earnings report due out after the close. The stock has run up 28.1% just this year, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.9%. Ross kept his rating at buy but raised his stock price target to $140 from $120. "Storage is gathering real momentum across all makers--starting to become standard," as Tesla Inc.'s home battery Powerwall has made it "sexy," and as solar power storage systems are growing in consumer applications, Ross wrote in a note to clients. And for commercial projects, Ross said his data shows that inverter pricing continued is growth from last year, with pricing reflecting "strong demand combined with nicely balanced supply." SolarEdge is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share, up from 27 cents a share ago, according to FactSet, with sales expected to grow 57% to $413.8 million. SolarEdge has missed EPS expectations the past four quarters, but has beaten revenue forecasts for every quarter since it went public in March 2015.
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