Dussault Apparel Inc. (DUSS), COPsync, Inc. (COYN), U.S. Canadian Minerals (USCN), China Marine Food Group Ltd. (CMFO), and Composite Technology Corporation (CPTC) were among today’s top OTC movers. Dussault Apparel Inc. (DUSS.OB: 0.086 +22.86%), a development-stage company that designs, markets, distributes and sells apparel products, saw its shares jump more than 25 percent after signing an [...]

Composite Technology Corporation (OTCBB: CPTC.OB) is a global provider of electric utility solutions that feature their breakthrough composite technologies. The company is an established leader in composite technology, focused on designing, manufacturing, and marketing a long line of diversified products that help meet many of the challenges and solve the numerous problems within the [...]

This is the first of a short series of articles I plan, reviewing how my stock recommendations have been doing this year.  I started the year bringing you 10 Alternative Energy Stocks I thought were worth speculating on for 2008, and I'll start this review with those articles, and also give you updates on what's been happening (or not) with the stocks.  Click on the company name a link to the original article where I wrote about the stock.

Overall, a portfolio with equal dollar positions in these ten stocks is up 11.4% for the year, compared to the S&P 500 which is down 4.2% and the NASDAQ Clean Edge US Index, which is down approximately 14.3% (I took the number from CELS, the ETF which tracks the index, since I could not find up-to-date index values) since the start of the year.

#10  Cree, Inc. (NasdaqGS:CREE) Dec 27, 2007: $23.50; June 9, 2008: $25.85 (up 10%).

Cree shot up as high as $35 early in the year, on buy-out speculation.  There was also a quick bump when their transistors were used as part of a record breaking solar inverter. While a quick profit on a buy-out might be nice, the fundamentals and growing consumer interest in LEDs mean that I'm happy I didn't sell at the peak.  

#9:Lighting Science Group (LSGP.OB) Dec 27, 2007: $6.40 (split-adjusted), June 9, 2008: $5.90 (down 7.8%).

Another LED stock, Lighting Science saw a spectacular rise right after I recommended it, but was badly hurt by a patent infringement suit from Philips (NYSE: (PHG) in February.   I found this personally very annoying, since I'm long both companies.  I have no idea how the lawsuit will turn out, but I'm holding both stocks for now.

#8 Maxwell Technologies (NasdaqGM: MXWL) Dec 27, 2007: $8.10, June 9, 2008: $13.26 (up 64%)

Ultracapacitors have been much in the news this year as an enabling technology for hybrid vehicles.  Since that's one of the reasons I picked the company, I'm naturally very pleased.

#7 Electro Energy, Inc. (NasdaqCM:EEEI) Dec 30, 2007: $0.68, June 9, 2008: $.65 (down 4.4%)

Electro-Energy has been up and down since I wrote about it, but still has not caught the attention of the investors piling in to battery stocks.  I'm waiting patiently.

#6 Capstone Microturbine (NasdaqGM:CPST) Dec 30, 2007: $1.62, June 9, 2008: $3.41 (up 110%)

Although I recommended this one, I've been totally shocked at how quickly it has run up.  Mostly, this seems to be due to a large, high-profile sale into the hybrid bus market.  I've taken the opportunity to take some profits (see my selling rule of thumb #2), but I'm still long.

#5 FuelCell Energy Inc. (NasdaqGM:FCEL) Dec 30, 2007: $10.30, June 9, 2008: $8.66 (down 16%)

Although this one is down, I still like it for the same reasons.  The out of the money puts I wrote on it look likely to expire unexercised, and I just wrote some more today. 

#4 Composite Technology Corp. (OTC BB:CPTC) Dec 30, 2007: $1.37, June 9, 2008: $0.99 (down 28%)

Like Electro Energy, Composite Technology still has not caught the attention of investors.  I bought some more when I revisited the stock in March, and it's starting to look cheap again.

#3 Nevada Geothermal Power (OTCBB:NGLPF or Toronto:NGP.V) Dec 31, 2007: $1.29, June 9, 2008: $1.25 (down 3.1%)

Another one requiring patience.  I expect the big gains for this stock to come before their Pumpernickel project begins to produce electricity (assuming there aren't any unforeseen hitches), similar to what happened with US Geothermal (AMEX: HTM) last year.

#2 Finavera Renewables (TSX:FVR or FNVRF.PK) Dec 31, 2007: $0.3371, June 9, 2008: $0.19 (down 43%)

I sold my position at a loss when I heard their wave energy license was subject to rehearing in late January.  Since then, Finavera was issued a preliminary 3 year permit, but I've continued to stay away.  My hopes for this one had been based on an expectation of investor euphoria for wave energy, not fundamentals, and given the down-trending markets, I don't expect that sort of irrational exuberance again in 2008.

#1 SHORT First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) Dec 31, 2007: $267, June 9, 2008: $245 (8.3% profit)

Since I wrote the article, a reader challenged my math on the impact of Te prices on their bottom line.  Although I've made a profit on this one, I question my original analysis, but have not re-run the numbers.  The slight decline can be completely attributed to the declining overall market, and FSLR has outperformed the clean energy sector as a whole.  I am still short a June $300 call, but do not plan to write another when it expires in a week and a half.

DISCLOSURE: Tom Konrad and/or his clients have long positions in CREE, LSGP, MXWL, EEEI, CPST, FCEL, CPTC, NGLPF, PHG and a short position in FSLR.

DISCLAIMER: The information and trades provided here are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full disclaimer here.

by Tom Konrad

When I asked, Alternative Energy Stocks readers overwhelmingly wanted me to take another look at Composite Technology Corp. (OTC BB:CPTC.OB)  I've discussed CPTC several times over the last year, and consider it my most speculative pick in electricity transmission and distribution.  True to the nature of a speculative stock with no current earnings which is still trying to establish markets for its products, the stock price has been all over the map.

The reader interest is doubtless due to the recent sharp decline since mid January.  I personally sold a portion of my and client positions when the stock was in the $1.75-$2.00 range, and repurchased it for some accounts around $1.30 (including my own.)  These accounts are currently showing a loss of around 30-35%, not counting the gains taken last year.

I actually have not been watching the recent decline, but seeing the stock at $0.82 today makes me wonder: should I buy more?  Should I take a tax loss for those accounts that could use one?  Has something happened to make the stock look worse, or is the current decline just the effect of falling markets on what has always been a very speculative stock?

Those Pesky Banks

Two weeks ago, I was talking to a friend who acts as a CFO for small wind developers.  Unprompted, he mentioned that banks would not finance CPTC's DeWind turbines because of their lack of track record, which is a gigantic barrier to incorporating them in a US windfarm.  My friend made the same comment about  AAER Inc [TSE:AAE], a company which AltEnergyStocks Editor Charles Morand bought last year (He still owns it, and says he bought if for other reasons, but is not overly concerned about turbine financing.)  In general, I have not been paying nearly as much attention to CPTC's wind division, because I'm more interested in the transmission play, and I had assumed that, given the long backlog for turbine orders from major manufacturers, DeWind would find places to sell as many turbines as Westinghouse can manufacture for them.  This financing difficulty is not news to investors who have been following DeWind, but it raised the question of how many turbines they will be able to sell until they build more of a track record in such places as the Czech Republic.

However, since this is not news, it can't account for the stock's decline.  CPTC does seem to be making accepted progress towards getting these turbines tested and certified, which should do something to ameliorate banks' reluctance to finance DeWind turbines.  They are currently waiting on two reports from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Department of Energy, as well as negotiating with insurance companies which would insure the turbines to allow bank financing.   

Uncertainty among investors as to the results of the DOE and NREL certifications are likely to be the cause of some of the decline.  This sort of uncertainty can feed on itself in down markets like the one we are currently experiencing, but that leads to buying opportunities for brave investors.

Latest Earnings Release

The Feb 11 December quarter earnings release certainly provides no explanation for the recent decline (although the decline began a full month before the release, so it would require the leak of insider information if it had.)  With revenues having doubled from the 2006 December quarter, and up 40% from the previous quarter, the expectation would be that the stock would also be up.  Both the DeWind and ACCC Cable divisions seem to be making headway towards broader market acceptance.

In contrast, operating cash flow for that quarter was almost $14 million in spending, mostly due to a large increase in inventory.  With cash on the books of only $11.5 million, their balance sheet looks weak, so failure to convert those inventories to cash could lead to a liquidity crunch in the coming quarters.  This might lead to a dilutive stock offering, which would probably be bad for current shareholders, unless it were in order to finance an increase in orders.

The company currently does not anticipate needing new cash until June, but seems determined to avoid further dilution if at all possible, mostly by relying on customer payments to fund inventory growth.  This adds both uncertainty, but also means that any gains are likely to be much more profound.

Conclusion

I like what I see.  The company has made considerable progress over the last year, and the stock is staying at the same price.  As the ACCC conductor begins to make a significant contribution to the bottom line, and its turbine certification continues as expected, the company seems likely to maintain current revenue growth rates.  At some point, barring too many unforeseen hiccups, investor greed sparked by rapid revenue growth should overcome uncertainty.

UPDATE: Shortly after publication, two readers pointed out that I'd missed the most likely cause of the sell off: selling by Millenium Partners, to pay an SEC fine.  All the more reason to buy, if the reason for selling has nothing to do with the company.  One of these readers gave the following detailed reasoning:

One issue that I noticed you did not cover is the selling by Merriman (Englander) of Twelve million shares to cover a 148 million fine by the SEC.  This can explain the dropoff in share price.  The market maker that handled the sale of the shares is ARCA, I believe.  If you notice, when ARCA appears to be off the ask, the stock has a tendency to go up.

Good enough for me.  I just bought some more.

DISCLOSURE: Tom Konrad and/or his clients have long positions in CPTC.  Charles Morand owns AAE.

DISCLAIMER: The information and trades provided here are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full disclaimer here.

Filed under: Major movement, Forecasts, Newspapers, Internet, Blogs, 25 Stocks for Next 25 Years, Zoltek Co (ZOLT)

In my series of the top 25 stocks for the NEXT 25 years I promised you that if anything relevant or game-changing were to come about, I would write it up for your reading pleasure. Well, I have some new news on Zoltek Co. (NASDAQ: ZOLT). I wrote up the initial Zoltek report just last week, but since that publishing, some relevant good news has come up.

Zoltek is the worldwide leader in the manufacturing of carbon fiber material. Carbon fiber has hundreds of applications from sporting goods to aeronautical casings. The most popular application of carbon fiber is as the material of choice for rotor blades on huge energy-generating wind turbines. The carbon fiber is lighter, less prone to friction and therefore far more efficient and cheaper to operate than traditional materials. The Dewind Corporation (a subsidiary of Composite Technology Corp./OTC: CPTC) has contracted Zoltek for the next several years to supply it with enough carbon fiber material to satisfy its growing demand.

This comes on top of the commitment made to Zoltek by the large Danish wind generator company Vestas. Vestas is one of the leading European companies in the energy field and known for its cutting-edge choices in technology and materials.

Continue reading Top 25 Stocks for the NEXT 25 Years: Update -- Zoltek

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