This'n'That; February Seventh #1; Investing

Marketwatch Thinks It's "Solar's" Time!
    One of Marketwatch's authors, Sara Sjolin, published a 'solar' article early this morning:
Here comes the sun: 7 solar stocks set to shine

The future looks sunnier for solar power firms. That’s the bright and shiny message from Citigroup, anyway. This week, the brokerage firm started coverage of seven U.S. solar companies, four of them at a “buy.”

The solar sector has seen an impressive expansion in recent years, with a compounded annual growth rate in installations of 59% from 2007 to 2012. As oil and gas prices rise alongside political calls for clean energy, analysts at Citigroup predict sun-generated energy will be in high demand. [....]
(Page 2:)  First Solar, Inc. [Ticker: FSLR]
Rating:  Initiated with 'Buy'
Target Price: $41.00
Current Price: $31.13
The pluses: First Solar is considered the bellwether in the downstream market, and with the downstream names poised for stronger growth than upstream counterparts, this is a company to watch. [....]
(Page 3:)  Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. [Ticker: AEIS]
Rating: Initiated with 'Buy'
Target Price: $20.00
Current Price: $16.61
The plusses: Following recent restructuring efforts, the Fort Collins, Col.-based company has become “a healthy cash generator” and is well positioned to benefit from both commercial and utility scale projects in North America. “Shares of AEIS are a core holding for investors looking to gain exposure into the downstream solar market while avoiding some of the pitfalls that have impacted the upstream segment—i.e. the commoditization of the module business,” they said. [....]
(Page 4:)  SunPower Corp. [Ticker: SPWR]
Rating: Initiated with 'buy' and added to the "U.S. high conviction buy list."
Target Price: $12.00
Current Price: $8.37
The plusses: Citigroup characterizes SunPower as the perfect solar package, highlighting the company’s exposure to growth in Japan through its partnership with Toshiba Corp. and Sharp Corp. . Additionally, it is 66% owned by French oil giant Total SA, creating an effective backstop. [....]
(Page 5:) MEMC Electronics Materials Inc. [Ticker: WFR]
Rating: Initiated at 'Buy'
Target Price: $5.40
Current Price: $4.43
The plusses: The St. Peters, Missouri-based company recently sold two European projects, reducing presence in the volatile Europe area. Instead, the current pipeline for SunEdison — MEMC’s project-development solar business — focuses on early high growth regions like the U.S., Canada and emerging markets. The Citi analysts further pointed to a solid balance sheet and strong cash flows, which should continue to improve. [....]
(Page 6:)  Trina Solar, Ltd. [Ticker: TSL]
Rating: Initiated at 'HOLD'
Target Price: $6.00
Current Price: $5.44
The plusses: The Chinese company is one of the higher quality solar-panel manufacturers in China and “is greatly leveraged to a recovery as the sector works off excess inventory over the next few years,” according to the Citigroup analysts. [....]
(Page 7:)  Renewable Energy Corp. ASA [Ticker: NO:REC]
Rating: Maintained at 'Buy'
Target Price: 2.50kr (Norwegian Kroner) =$0.45USD)
Current Price: 1.05kr (=$0.189USD)
The plusses: The Norwegian-based Renewable Energy Corp. benefits from being the lowest cost producer of polysilicon, a key component in solar panels, due to its cost-effective “fluidized bed reactor” technology. Additionally, its downstream activities in Singapore should show boost the financial results shortly. [....]
(Page 8:)  GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Inc. [Ticker: HK:3800]
Rating: Maintained at 'Buy'
Target Price: 2.68HKD  (Hong Kong Dollars) =$0.35USD)
Current Price: 1.94HKD (=$0.254USD)
The plusses: Citigroup is broadly positive on the Asia players and polysilicon producer GCL is one of the region’s companies benefiting from local demand drivers and the potential to profit from possible import tariffs. [....]
    Although I'm one of the last investors you'd expect to 'hop in bed' with solar energy production, storage, etc., I can be a sucker for an "off-the-grid" investment that I can afford; one that has an acceptable sized possible gain. 
Are you that kind of investor?!?
Your comments?
Til Nex'Time....
Reference "Lie-Barry:"
 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-comes-the-sun-7-solar-stocks-set-to-shine-2013-02-07?link=MW_latest_news