Renewables MMI Flat, Tesl, Solarcit Shows Industry Consolidation
MetalMiner | Aug 05, 2016 05:01AM ET
Our Renewables MMI was flat again this month, another sign of stagnant prices and renewable power generation markets that are simply not maturing very fast.
Perhaps it’s a sign of just how tepid renewable technology metals markets are, that the purchase of major photovoltaic panel manufacturer SolarCity Corporation (NASDAQ:SCTY) and electric/hyrid automaker Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) didn’t really make a blip in the prices of silicon or our other renewable metals.
Industry consolidation is usually a good sign for emerging technologies and the synergies that Tesla could possibly take advantage of in providing electric car batteries, home energy storage and now solar-energy-collecting panels sort of make sense to allow Tesla to own the green power storage segment. If vertical integration hadn’t been abandoned by the auto industry decades ago.
Markets have responded with a veritable shrug. SolarCity shareholders are almost certain to file a lawsuit questioning the merger, all the shareholders who are, of course, not Tesla CEO Elon Musk who is also a major SolarCity shareholder. SolarCity’s CEO is Musk’s cousin. The $2.6 billion takeover will pay shareholders only $25.83 a share. Less than SolarCity’s share price the day the deal was announced.
Analysts hate the merger, too. Adam Jonas, an influential auto industry analyst at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), slashed his price target for Tesla and wrote in a note to clients that potential rewards would not adequately compensate investors for the greater risks and cash flow drain. Expanding into a non-auto business like solar energy exposes Tesla to “untested cost, competitive and regulatory forces,” he warned.
Tesla shares, themselves, dropped 10% the day the deal was announced. Even if this deal won’t move markets for silver, silicon, lithium or neodymium anytime soon, there are economies of scale that could pay off in the long run that Musk is looking at.
Tesla owners will eventually need to get power from energy sources other than plugging into a wall unit fed by a coal-fired electricity plant, after all. Just don’t expect Tesla to become the vertically integrated battery/solar panel/electric car maker that changes the world in the next five to 10 years.
h2 Actual Renewables Prices/h2
Get The News You Want
Neodymium dropped from $50,642.96 per metric ton in July to $48,920/mt this month, a big drop of 3.4%. Silicon increased to $1,821.33/mt this month from $1,818.34/mt in July, an increase of .2%.
by Jeff Yoders
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.