The heavens, sun, moon and stars appear to be shining on solar stocks today after Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) put First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) on its conviction buy list with a new price target of $165. While these price targets do little to coax a seasoned investor into the stock, they do create a sector wide move higher than can be played for profits. Stocks across the sector are running higher. LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE:LDK) is soaring, trading at $14.46, +1.31 (+9.96%) while others are making great moves as well.
The key now appears to be to find other solar stocks that have been forgotten. This usually happens in the small caps. The two solar small caps that look attractive are Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI) and Hoku Corporation (NASDAQ:HOKU). The recent moves in the large cap solar players should trickle down to the small ones eventually.
The inflation picture is a direct catalyst for solar stocks. As inflation and the global markets rebound, the price of energy rises. The higher oil prices go, the more attractive it is to buy solar panels. With long term energy prices expected to continue to rise, solar stocks look attractive on pull backs. Small cap solar stocks at the lows of the chart look attractive now for the short term.