Solar stocks finally got some good news. The 24 stocks in the Energy-Solar industry group tracked by MarketSmith are up about 10% as of midday Tuesday, led by First Solar and Enphase Energy .
The solar stocks rally follows a cooler-than-expected consumer price index report Tuesday, which could potentially boost demand.
Rising interest rates have made financing more difficult for solar projects and soured investors on the sector. The possibility of rate hikes easing or even coming to an end has some investors returning to these stocks — at a discount.
SunPower, Enphase Up Big
Microinverter provider Enphase Energy, which had been down roughly 65% for the year, was up around 16% at 91.33 in recent action on the stock market today.
Residential-focused SunPower, which had been down nearly 75% year to date, was up more than 16% at 4.44.
First Solar, a manufacturer focused in the utility-scale market, was up 10% at 148.68. The gains have pushed First Solar into positive territory for the year overall, at a roughly 2% year-to-date gain.
Array Technologies was up 9% at 15.20. The solar tracker manufacturer is down about 20% this year. Shares sank after the company reported third-quarter sales that missed estimates last week.
Solar Stocks Worst-Performing Group
Still, the 24 stocks in the Energy-Solar industry group have lost a cumulative 42.5% in 2023, including Tuesday's gains. The group is the worst performer among the 197 industry categories tracked by MarketSmith, based on six-month price performance.
And this earnings season has been a serious struggle, with multiple firms posting double-digit losses following their reports in recent weeks. Firms such as Enphase and SolarEdge have recently warned of demand slowing most rapidly in Europe.
Solar stocks have struggled despite overall growth in solar installations, at least in the U.S. The U.S. solar industry expects to add a record 32 gigawatts of new capacity in 2023, a 52% increase from last year, according to a September report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and research firm Wood Mackenzie.
