Sunday, February 17, 2008

If You Bought Barron's Five Green "Cleaning Up" Stocks, Did You Clean Up?

On July 15, 2007, Barron's featured five companies that it said represented the non-frothy part of the green boom. How are they doing so far? Okay, to be fair, Barron's writer Mark Ververka said you should hold them for a decade. But life's too short not to peek at them a little ahead of maturity. Okay, a lot ahead of maturity.

Sunpower (SPWR): spinoff of Cypress Semiconductor, makes high-efficiency solar cells, and has the top spot in Spain, a big plant in Korea, and is building the U.S.'s largest plant. July price: $69.80, the 52-week high and 36 times projected 2008 earnings; Merrimack Curham's target is $75.00. Flash-forward to Friday, February 15: $79.44. Sounds good, right? Except one of those bumps Barron's warned about was a nice one: the stock topped $150 in November.

Environmental Power Corp. (EPG): "a big bet on...emissions caps and the trading of pollution credits in the U.S." July price: $8.63. Analyst Brian Tanous of MC has a target of $16, "or $23 if the value of carbon is twice what's expected." February 15: $4.72. Can they hang on until the new administration a year from now?

Fueltech (FTEK): air pollution controls that make power plants run more efficiently. $32.67 in July, heading to $41, said Tanous; $17.80 in February.

PICO Holdings (PICO): Buying up water rights. July price: $43.66. February: $30.80. Volatility is okay, says Tanous, since it's an asset play on its way to $58.

Composite Tech (CPTC.OB): An alternate windmill technology to GE's and carbon-fiber power transmission lines. $1.45 in July; $1.10 now...Barron's said it carried significant risk back in July, so you were warned!

We'll check back in a few years...if we can wait that long!

Composite Tech (

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