Investopedia: Washed Out Expectations May Help Maxwell From Here

The combination of overheated expectations and market weakness in Europe and Asia has done a real number on energy technology names ranging from wind power to solar to batteries. With declining revenue momentum in ultracapacitors, lower overall revenue guidance and worries about both emerging competition and sluggish end markets, Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq:MXWL) has been no exception - dropping almost 50% over the last year.

I'm starting to wonder, though, if this isn't a good time to start reconsidering this name. I think investors have been forced towards much more rational market and revenue expectations, and if anything the market may now be undervaluing the company's long-term potential. While this remains a high-risk name with much to prove, sometimes emerging tech stories work better after a lot of the wide-eyed optimism has been washed out of the stock.

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Investopedia: American Superconductor - From A Growth Play To A Survival Survival

Much as investors and so-called "socially responsible" funds seem to like the sector, energy technology really has yet to deliver an established winning company to match a success story like Amgen (Nasdaq:AMGN) in biotech. As has so often been the case, American Superconductor (Nasdaq:AMSC) gave investors a glimpse of a successful future only to see market conditions erode significantly. Where American Superconductor was once an interesting risky growth play on wind power, now the company is simply trying to stay in the game long enough to rebuild its business and participate in the eventual wind power recovery

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Investopedia: Can Zoltek Keep The Wind At Its Back?

Here's a little secret for investors looking to take big swings at potential multi-baggers: seek out small, poorly-followed, heavily-shorted stocks in out-of-favor industries. Pick the right one at the right time and the gains can be tremendous. That was shown yet again last week as carbon fiber producer Zoltek (Nasdaq:ZOLT) obliterated analyst expectations and reignited hopes that wind power and green power stocks may have a better 2012 in store.

Great Results Across the Board 

Zoltek is followed by just three analysts, and we're not exactly talking about Morgan Stanley or Barclays here, so "beating expectations" has to be taken with a grain of salt. Still, Zoltek reported that revenue rose 43% from last year and blew away the revenue estimate by 30% as the company saw a 33% jump in shipment volume.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Can-Zoltek-Keep-The-Wind-At-Its-Back-ZOLT-AMSC-HXL-GE0208.aspx

Investopedia: OM Group - Unreasonably Cheap, Or Cheap For A Reason?

Though I have not owned it in many years, I've been a fan of OM Group (NYSE:OMG) for some time, particularly as the company's management tries to diversify the business and steer it away from such heavy reliance on cobalt. Although this is not a well-followed company at all, is still quite dependent on cobalt prices, and has not proven that it can deliver consistently strong returns on capital, today's valuation seems to expect far too little from this specialty materials company.

Crosscurrents in Q3 

Given that there is only one published earnings estimate for OM Group, the question of whether the company disappointed with its third quarter results, is largely irrelevant. Nevertheless, it was a quarter that seemed to be mixed with good and bad news.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/OM-Group---Unreasonably-Cheap-Or-Cheap-For-A-Reason-OMG-FCX-SOA-ALB-GB-STP-SCCO-AMSC1115.aspx

Investopedia: Is Europe Abandoning The Atom?

With news out of Switzerland and Germany last week, it looks as though the long-term energy picture in Europe is changing in a hurry. Germany and Switzerland, two of the world's largest economies, have both announced plans to completely phase out nuclear power as an electricity source, leaving the question of how these countries will fill the power gap without choking off their economies. 


Not surprisingly, solar and wind power stocks rose on the news, but only time will tell if the companies in these markets can increase their efficiency fast enough to become viable cornerstone sources of power. In the meantime, the decisions in Germany and Switzerland are likely to ripple through the power generation market for years to come.

The Scale of the Decision
In relatively short order, both Switzerland and Germany have decided to abandon nuclear power as an ongoing source of electricity. While nuclear power has been a touchy subject throughout most of Europe for some time (especially after the Chernobyl disaster), protests accelerated in the wake of Japan's combined natural disasters and TEPCO's inability to avert serious problems at the Fukushima facility. 



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Investopedia: American Superconductor Flickering

The bad news just keeps coming for alternative energy company American Superconductor (Nasdaq:AMSC). Although the company thought it had made a major step forward when it diversified into wind turbine components, that plan has run off the rails recently. It remains to be seen whether the company can repair its relationship with a major customer and/or find a new and more stable business plan to grow the company. 


The Latest Setbacks
American Superconductor reported a double-whammy related to ongoing issues with its biggest customer Sinovel. The company announced that not only will revenue be "materially less" than $355 million for the quarter (which itself was a big step down from prior hopes), but the company would need an extension to file its 10-K due to the probable need to reverse already recognized revenue.

Sinovel is the second-largest wind turbine maker in the world (and the largest in China) and has been a huge customer for AMSC's turbine components business, making up close to three-quarters of sales. Unfortunately, the company decided a few months ago to stop accepting any deliveries of components for 1.5MW and 3MW turbines and hasn't fully paid for prior accepted shipments. (For related reading, see What Does It Mean To Be Green?)



The full article can be read at Investopedia:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/American-Superconductor-Flickering-AMSC-GE-SI-ZOLT-VWDRY-GCTAY0603.aspx.

Two Green Energy Companies Moving In Opposite Directions

Consider the curious cases of American Superconductor Corp (Nasdaq:AMSC) and Headwaters (NYSE:HW). Although not in competition with each other, the stocks of these two greener energy players have done an interesting dance over the past 14 years, as their fortunes and futures have shifted. Where American Superconductor was once the speculative pie-in-the-sky play, it now has a growing wind power business, while Headwaters continues to struggle with its transition into a manufacturer of green building products. 

The Quarters In Hand
This recently-completed quarter provides a good example of the different fortunes of these two companies. Headwaters reported only 4% revenue growth, as good growth in the now-small energy tech business could not substantially offset sluggish performance in the construction/building product segments. Adjusted EBITDA was up 11%, while reported earnings were hurt by impairments related to the company's coal cleaning operations. 


On the flip side, AMSC reported revenue growth of 36%, as the company's wind power business nearly reached $100 million in quarterly revenue. Gross margin improved almost 200 basis points, and the company reported a small increase in backlog. The company's order book now has about $956 million in revenue - more than two years at the current run-rate.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Two-Green-Energy-Companies-Moving-In-Different-Directions-HW-AMSC-GE-EXP-VMC-CX1104.aspx