On Jan 02, 2015, Zacks Investment Research upgraded JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (JASO) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) from a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Why the Upgrade?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter and full-year 2015 saw an upside as estimates moved north in the last 60 days. It surged 58.3% to 19 cents for the first-quarter of 2015 and 13.5% to $1.18 for 2015.
JA Solar reported strong third-quarter 2014 performance. Moreover, it reported positive earnings surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average earnings beat of 237.25%. The expected earnings growth is 22%.
In the third quarter, the company reversed its year-ago loss as its shift in focus to solar modules from solar cells paid off. Its total shipments grew by 57% from the year-ago period due to a 127.4% surge in module shipments.
The company continues to reap the benefits of its change in focus. Module shipments constituted 88% of the total shipments in third-quarter 2014. The company is witnessing robust demand for its modules in the fourth quarter as well. In Dec 2014, the company shipped solar modules of 100 megawatts capacity to a solar farm in Pakistan.
Apart from providing enhanced services to its customers, JA Solar is committed to enhance shareholder value. During its third-quarter earnings call, the company announced that its board of directors had approved a share repurchase program that authorized the repurchase of up to $90 million worth of its issued and outstanding ADS prior to Nov 17, 2015.
Also, the U.S. and China have issued a joint statement to curb pollution levels. China has pledged to increase energy consumption from renewable sources to 20% by 2030 and aims to add 100 GW by 2020 to support the photovoltaic power generation. This will cause a major boom in the global solar energy market and benefit JA Solar and other solar companies like Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (YGE), JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (JKS) and ReneSola Ltd (SOL).
JA Solar anticipates robust demand in 2015 and plans to expand its cell and module capacity by 20%. This will ensure that the company posts impressive earnings in 2015 as well.
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