Evergreen Solar shares falls on lean 3Q

Evergreen Solar Inc. of Marlborough was pummeled today by investors disappointed with the company's third-quarter report.

Shares in a company that develops, manufactures, and markets solar-power products fell 13 percent, or 50 cents, to $3.37 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The loss of $23.9 million, or 18 cents per share, was nearly double the 10-cent loss expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Evergreen reported a loss of $3.7 million, or 4 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Investors were not impressed by revenues of $22.1 million, a 21 percent jump compared with last year.

Piper Jaffray, in an analyst note, wrote that there is a risk of project delays in Germany, as well as an erosion of government incentives in Europe.

But Piper Jaffray gave Evergreen Solar Inc. a buy rating.

"We remain confident in the company's ability to lower its cost structure and remain competitive, as well as achieve significant earnings power upon ramp completion in 2009," analysts Jesse W. Pichel, Preetesh U. Munshi and Torben Sommer wrote in a note. "We continue to believe ESLR offers long-term investors significant value given its proprietary technology that allows substantial cost savings. (AP)