Cowen’s Stone Maintains NEUTRAL Rating on Hoku (Nasdaq:HOKU)
Oct 23, 2009
Author: SCP Editor
October 23, 2009 – Analyst Comments – Cowen’s Rob Stone reiterated his NEUTRAL rating on Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq:HOKU) this morning stating that he expects the stock to trade up (1.5-1.8x post Tianwei-deal book value of about $1.84).
Key Takeaways
· Believes Hoku should be able to start up poly production by CQ1:10. Company expects to be fully ramped to 4,000MT by C4:10, but Stone is modeling a more conservative ramp to full capacity by mid-2011.
· Adjusted F10 estimates to loss of $0.33 on revenue of $7.7 million
· About $71 million is needed to finish the poly plant (assuming current customers make all their prepayments). Looking for subsequent financing to come from other debt sources, prepayments from new customers and potentially U.S. investment tax credits or Federal loan guarantees.