Weekly "Focus" and Blinded by the Light

The big event in Toronto next week (and in many other places) is Monday’s solar eclipse. It’s scheduled to begin in Toronto at 2:05 pm, hit maximum coverage at 3:20 pm and end at 4:41 pm, hopefully with clear skies that day. The residents of Niagara Falls, who are expected to witness the eclipse in totality, are bracing for such huge crowds that the city has already declared a state of emergency. The solar eclipse will impact solar energy production as the sky will go dark for as much as six minutes. Solar energy production has grown over the past number of years, predicted to produce 6% of US electricity generation in 2024 (ii). Companies involved in solar energy systems have generally seen their share prices struggle this year and are hoping for brighter days ahead – the following group of companies are covered by research analyst Ameet Thakkar of BMO Capital Markets.

 

		Total Return in 2024
Array Technologies* (ARRY)		-14.0%
Enphase Energy* (ENPH)		-11.2%
First Solar* (FSLR)		-3.9%
NEXTracker* (NXT)		+11.2%
SolarEdge Technologies* (SEDG)		-27.0%
Sunnova Energy International* (NOVA)		-65.3%
Sunrun* (RUN)		-37.4%

Source: FactSet, Values as of April 3, 2024

 

This week’s "Focus" from our economics team is attached.

 

Have a great long weekend,

 

Brad

Senior Portfolio Manager and Senior Investment Advisor

 

Source: (i) FactSet (ii) US Energy Information Association (EIA)