Every Monday we feature “A Stock to Sell” as our daily post. With every stock or investment we recommend as a sell, we give you a full explanation of why we advise against investing in it at this time.
SolarCity Corp. (symbol SCTY on Nasdaq; www.solarcity.com) provides rooftop solar systems for homeowners, businesses, schools and government agencies in the U.S.
The company creates a customized energy plan for each customer, then sells, finances, engineers, installs, monitors and maintains the system. Customers can “sell” any electricity they don’t use onto the power grid for credits they can use to “buy” electricity at night.
SolarCity continues to grow quickly. In the three months ended December 31, 2014, the amount of megawatts deployed rose 70% from a year ago, the number of megawatt orders booked jumped 103%, and SolarCity added 21,318 clients, bringing its total to 189,657 as of the end of the quarter. In 2013, it had a customer base of 44,579.
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Investment advice: Big cost cuts needed to compensate for Solar Investment Tax Credit cuts
The company can grow this quickly because the homeowner doesn’t pay an upfront fee for its solar systems, which was a huge deterrent in the past. Instead, residents sign long-term leases, and thanks to the generous Solar Investment Tax Credit, their electricity bills end up being lower than what they previously paid their local utility.
SolarCity also packages its customers’ leases into bundles and sells them to investors as asset-backed securities, which frees up money to install more systems and keeps financing costs low.
The stock fell sharply in mid-February after the company reported a loss of $1.33 a share in the three months ended December 31, 2014, compared to a $0.46-a-share loss a year earlier.
Even with its rapid growth, Solar City faces significant—and rising—risks. For one, it will need to keep cutting costs at a substantial rate to stay competitive, as the Solar Investment Tax Credit is scheduled to be reduced from 30% to 10% in 2017.
Moreover, electric utilities are unhappy because they believe they’re being unfairly forced to spend heavily to maintain transmission systems without any contributions from solar firms. As well, SolarCity faces intense competition from other companies like Vivint Solar and SunPower.
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Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
The Successful Investor Inc. and its affiliate Successful Investor Wealth Management (referred to hereafter as TSI Network) know that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly. This notice describes our privacy policy. By visiting websites owned by or associated with TSI Network, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
This privacy policy is applicable to all TSI Network Visitors, Clients, Employees, Suppliers, Web sites, Management, and all other interested parties. Any links to or from our site are not covered by this policy. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of every site that you visit.
The privacy of the site/store visitor is very important to TSI Network, and is respected at all times. The information we receive from customers helps us to personalize and continually improve your online experience at TSI Network.
We do not collect or disclose personal information, except when it is provided to us voluntarily by the site/store visitor with their consent.
We store subscriber and password files containing personal information securely. These files are stored in secure areas that are not accessible to the general public. We are always working to ensure the security of your personal information.
We are continuously in the process of improving our sites and services. If any new features or policies require a change to this current policy, we will post a clear notice of this change on pages of our site where the privacy policy appears. The principle behind this privacy policy is to collect information with your knowledge and consent.
What personal information do we collect?
The information we receive from customers helps us personalize and continually improve your online experience at TSI Network. TSI Network may collect personal information online for all legal purposes, which include, but are not limited to:
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Does TSI Network Use the Information It Receives?
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COMMENTS: TERMS OF USE
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How can you ask questions about our Privacy Policy and access your personal information?
The provision of information by you is entirely voluntary and you have the right not to provide information. Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to receive certain information as to whether or not personal information relating to you is held by TSI Network and to obtain a copy of such information that is sought. You may also have the right to require information, where appropriate, to be erased, blocked or made anonymous or to have data updated or corrected. If you do not wish TSI Network to hold information about you or if you wish to have access to information, modify information, or object to any processing of information or if you have questions please contact us.
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Changes to this Policy
This Policy is the sole authorized statement of TSI Network's practices with respect to the collection of personal information through TSI Network's websites and the subsequent use and disclosure of such information. Any summaries of this Policy generated by third party software or otherwise (for example, in connection with the "Platform for Privacy Preferences" or "P3P") shall have no legal effect, are in no way binding upon TSI Network, shall not be relied upon in substitute for this Policy, and neither supersede nor modify this Policy.
TSI Network may revise this Policy from time to time.
Legal Notices and Disclaimers
The contents of this web site and our publications are based upon sources of information believed to be reliable, but no warranty or representation, expressed or implied, is given as to their accuracy or completeness. Any opinion reflects the Successful Investor’s judgment at the date of publication and neither the Successful Investor, nor any of its affiliated companies, nor any of their officers, directors or employees, accepts any responsibility in respect of the information or recommendations contained in the publications or on this web site. Moreover, the information or recommendations are subject to change without notice.
Information presented on this web site or contained in our publications is not an offer, nor a solicitation, to buy or sell any securities referred to on the web site or in the publications. The material is general information intended for recipients who understand the risks associated with an investment in any securities referred to in the publications or on this web site. The Successful Investor has made no determination regarding whether an investment, course of action, or associated risks are suitable for the recipient.
