@bobelle,
WEL ist interessant.
So geht´s auch: ist in der Liste:
Die haben sich fast verzehnfacht in 3 Wochen. Das ist eine Übertreibung!
Heute: DYESOL LTD. (1,60 / 60,00 %)
ISIN: AU000000DYE9
WKN: A0ETN7
Ersatzkasse,
was für dich.
Column: Be Cautious on Alternative Energy
Friday February 24, 12:40 pm ET
By Bruce Meyerson, AP Business Writer
ALL BUSINESS: Be Cautious About Alternative Energy Rally
NEW YORK (AP) -- President Bush's push to end the nation's oil addiction has the stock market abuzz about alternative energy companies. Again.
Even if the renewed zeal for renewable energy proves lasting this time, investors should try not to get too giddy about the companies that would benefit from new demand for ethanol, solar power and fuel cells.
For starters, anyone hoping to ride the sudden wave of optimism for a quick gain may be too late. The shares of many such companies began rallying weeks before the State of the Union address as word spread among the "smart money" that the president would stress developing new fuel sources.
One new stock index tracking 18 companies engaged in alternative energy technology and supply rose more than 17 percent between its early-January debut and the Jan. 31 speech. Another index of 40 stocks jumped nearly 27 percent during January. Among individual names, Evergreen Solar Inc. rose almost 45 percent, and Ballard Power Systems Inc., a fuel cell producer, jumped 36 percent.
The sector began pulling back almost immediately after the address as the early birds locked in gains. Many individual stocks fluctuated wildly immediately before and afterward, no doubt burning some investors who piled into the most speculative names.
This was particularly true among companies focusing on ethanol, which drew especially strong emphasis by President Bush. The shares of a small venture named Pacific Ethanol Inc. nearly doubled over the final week of January, then tumbled nearly 20 percent the day after the speech, a gyration that's continued in recent weeks.
But more important to keep in mind than short-term stock market results are the memories of fuel fads past, as well as the simple fact that many alternative energy companies are losing money.
It was only three years ago that President Bush used his State of the Union to call for more investment in hydrogen fuel-cell research. Many of usual suspects that rallied last month also shot higher back then as the president pledged "a new national commitment" to take fuel-cell powered cars "from laboratory to showrooms" within 20 years.
In the run-up to the 2003 address, the shares of a fuel-cell technology company named Hydrogenics Corp. soared 32 percent over the course of a month. This time around, the Canadian company's stock rose 37 percent between the start of January and the eve of this year's speech.
Notably, the stock now stands at $3.89. That's down 9 percent from that recent peak -- which itself is 8 percent lower than the speech-induced peak of early 2003. And those seesaws are only two of many by the stock, which vaulted above $10 for an eyeblink in early 2002, and briefly rose above $7.50 in early 2004.
None of this is a commentary on Hydrogenics' technology and products, which appear to be very well regarded by industry analysts. But like so many companies trying to capitalize on the promise of renewable energy, Hydrogenics is not a profitable venture.
Despite growing revenues, the Canadian company reported Wednesday it lost $37.4 million in 2005. That followed losses of $33.5 million a year earlier, $22.1 million in 2003, and $20.6 million in 2002. In other words, the trend has been worsening rather than improving.
The reality here is not unlike the boom-and-bust for upstart Internet and telecommunications ventures not so long ago. The fuel-cell technologies that Hydrogenics and others are developing may in fact be the very ones that succeed in the market.
The same might be argued of Energy Conversion Devices Inc., a solar equipment maker planning to sell more than $200 million of stock to build another factory -- or any number of other money-losing companies hoping to capitalize on the surge in oil prices that has made alternative energy sources appear cost-effective for the first time.
Many of the Internet technologies and telecommunications networks created in the 1990s are generating profits today, only not for the companies that developed them. Acquirers snatched them out of bankruptcy, paying pennies on the dollar for innovations that required billions of investment dollars. Global Crossing Ltd., for example, built the world's most extensive fiber-optic network before entering bankruptcy in early 2002 with debts of $12.4 billion. In 2004, Singapore Technologies Telemedia bought a controlling stake in the business for $250 million.
It's a story that also played out more than a century ago in a frenzy of railroad building.
Similarly, in the alternative energy sector, if rising sales don't turn into profits soon, it may be other opportunists who reap fortunes from the winning technologies and products.
The White House and Congress did in fact make good on the president's pledge in 2003, injecting new money into the fuel-cell sector, though not all of it goes to businesses. Over the past three years, the Department of Energy has awarded about $500 million for research by universities, companies, and national laboratories.
And while no specific dollar amounts were proposed with this year's State of the Union, the energy bill passed in late 2005 could pump more than half a billion dollars more per year into fuel cell development.
Nonetheless, investors shouldn't presume that all this spending and optimism are a recipe for rising stocks. As the current share prices for some likely beneficiaries may already reflect the best-case scenario, risks abound.
Bruce Meyerson is a national business columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at bmeyerson@ap.org
ergänzen. Da haben viele Anleger, viel zu lange in der Sonne gelegen.
