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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Tesla, SunPower, Sunnova Energy and ReneSola

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL –October 31, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) , SunPower Corporation (SPWR - Free Report) , Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NOVA - Free Report) and ReneSola Ltd (SOL - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Will Its Solar Glass Roof Draw Revs for Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) ?

Tesla, Inc. has been trying hard to become a market dominator in the clean energy sector since 2016, especially after the acquisition of Solar City Corporation. Despite failing several times, finally it launched the Solar Glass Roof that seems to be quite promising. However, California’s raging wildfire and power cut might give a boost to the sales of Tesla’s Solar Glass Roof.

Rising Demand for Solar Panels and Roofs

As of Oct 25, more than 2 million people across California were affected by power outages. The utility companies are trying hard to find ways to prevent their power lines from sparking new blazes and stop wild fire disasters.

The fragile, flammable nature of the power grid has instilled panic in residents not just in California but across the United States. Fire, which is still ravaging in the north of San Francisco, has engulfed more than 66,000 acres and is only 5% under control.

This phenomenon seems to occur every year and is exponentially increasing. However, after the 2018 camp fire disaster that had devastated the entire town of Paradise, electricity providers put the blame on camp fire.

But preemptive power outages have become consistent in California and the current outage is the second-most massive and deliberate blackout that is bothering Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers this month. In fact, over the past few years, the cost of grid electricity has either stayed constant or increased but service seems to be deteriorating.

Here’s where solar panels play a huge role. These panels generate energy and store it in batteries for household use. Households using solar power do not need to stay connected with the grid for electricity and are independent in times of these blackouts.

However, wildfire and power cuts seem to provide the perfect opportunity for Tesla. CEO Elon Musk twitted on Oct 28, “If you’re directly affected by wildfire power outages, Tesla is reducing Solar+Powerwall prices by $1000 as of today.”

Will Tesla’s Solar Glass Roof Shine?

Tesla, on Oct 25, re-released it solar roofs, the third version of the product that was first launched in 2016. This product is not like other solar panels that need to be installed on the roofs, rather they are roof tiles that can send electricity into Tesla’s home batteries directly.

What’s the pocket pinch? As per Tesla’s website, the average price of a Solar Roof is $33,950 and its home battery system, the Powerwall, costs roughly $14,100 for a 2,200-square-foot home.

These V3 Solar roofs have larger tiles, higher power density, and new materials with a 25-year warranty. These textured glass shingles are hydrographically printed to resemble French slate or Tuscan glass. These tiles and roof installation have a warrantied power generation capability and protective weatherization (including 130 MPH wind resistance).

From recent history, Tesla’s solar roofs have been constantly failing since 2016. Per a CNBC report, Tesla hadn’t performed many actual installations of its solar roof tile since September 2018 . But Musk seems quite confident this time. On Oct 22, Musk cited American real estate listing website Zillow’s statistics that “homes with solar panels on average sell for 4.1 percent more than similar homes without solar panels.”

As mentioned earlier, solar panels when connected to batteries can offer independent energy, hence one can ride out blackouts. California’s power cuts caused by Pacific Gas & Electric’s poorly maintained power lines could last for another 10 years, hence a wide door for Tesla is open.

Tesla’s Solar Glass Roof is a long-term product expected to last 20 or 30 years. However, the company does not disown its solar panels as people who have constructed new houses in the recent past will surely not opt for a new roof right now. Also, Tesla is offering “cheaper-than-grid solar rentals” that can undercut energy bills.

The company hopes to install more than 1,000 roofs per week in the next few months and gradually independent installers will be able to sell and install the product themselves. With the subsidy to lower prices playing a crucial role in market dominance, Tesla seems to be positioned well.

However, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has many strong competitors. SunPower Corporation, Sunnova Energy International Inc. and ReneSola Ltd are just a few competitors from the long list who are watching Tesla closely and re-shaping their products to match up. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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