SolarEdge Downgraded by Jefferies, Citing ‘Stiff Competition’

SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) shares tumbled in early trading Tuesday, before rebounding later in the session after Jefferies downgraded the stock, pointing to tough competition in the solar power industry.

Jefferies analysts lowered their rating to “underperform” from “hold,” and cut their price target to $17 from $23, implying close to 32% downside from Tuesday’s intraday price of $22.37.

“Given significant headwinds in Europe from persistently high inventory levels and Chinese competition, as well as stiff competition in US, we see more downside to the stock,” the analysts said.

The analysts added they had hoped to gain more confidence in the solar power equipment maker during the RE+ clean energy event, but “unfortunately, that didn’t pan out.” Instead, they found “no near-term catalysts that have potential to significantly alter the trajectory.”

Along with dealing with a slowdown in demand, SolarEdge was also dealt a blow in June when it reported one of its customers filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and wouldn’t be able to pay its multi-million dollar debt to the company. 

Despite slight gains Tuesday, SolarEdge shares have lost over three-quarters of their value since the start of the year.