Evergreen, ReneSola Fall After Reporting Weak Solar Panel Sales

Evergreen dropped 54 cents, or 26 percent, to $1.54 as of 10:221 a.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Earlier it was down as much as 34 percent, the largest intra-day decline since October 2002. ReneSola’s American depositary receipts fell as much as 78 cents, or 8.8 percent, to $8.07 a share. A close at that price would be the lowest since Dec. 17.

Evergreen Chief Executive Officer Michael El-Hillow said slower-than-expected sales may force the company to raise cash. Marlboro, Massachusetts-based Evergreen held about $33 million in cash and cash equivalents as of April 26, down from $38.5 million on April 2.

“Uncertainties regarding feed-in-tariffs and other subsidy programs have substantially slowed the demand for solar panels in 2011,” El-Hollow said in a statement yesterday.

Wunderlich Securities Inc. analyst Theodore O’Neill downgraded the company today to “sell” from “hold.”

ReneSola said product sales slumped 15 percent in the first quarter to $328.2 million, from $386.4 million in the fourth quarter. For the second quarter, sales will be in the range of $280 million to $300 million, less than the $337.1 million that analysts had expected.

“We hold a cautious outlook for demand in Europe, particularly due to the uncertainty and policy changes in Italy,” the Jiashan, China-based company’s Chief Executive Officer Xianshou Li said today in a statement.