Debt and COVID hurt its prospects

Article Excerpt

SUNPOWER CORP. $9.86 is a sell. The company (Nasdaq symbol SPWR; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 170.0 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.us.sunpower.com) makes solar-electric power panels and other products primarily for the commercial and residential market segments. About half of its production comes from the Philippines and Malaysia. SunPower plans to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies: SunPower and Maxeon Solar Technologies. It will hand out shares in Maxeon to its shareholders in the third quarter of 2020. Maxeon will handle the manufacturing and marketing of the company’s solar panels. SunPower will continue to operate as a North American solar generation, storage and energy services company. After the split, both firms will continue to operate in a very challenging and competitive market. As well, SunPower has a lot of debt due in 2021 and 2023. You should also note that COVID-19 has slowed the installation of solar-power systems and disrupted the company’s supply chains. We don’t recommend SunPower Corp. Corp…