This week,  the IPO market will get a bit of boost in what has been a lackluster year for exciting  companies coming to market.  This week, GT Solar, a New Hampshire maker of solar cell manufacturing equipment,  is expected to begin trading under the ticker symbol SOLR.  Sure, there are far too many solar companies right now and this sector is overdue for a shakeout of buyouts, blowups and mergers but in this environment  it’s good to see any company generating a profit come to market and GT Solar is certainly doing that with revenues and profits exploding over the past year, allowing the company to turn its first profit.  I like the fact that they are a "pick and shovel" play in the industry providing a complete turnkey solution with equipment and expertise to allow solar manufacturers to get up and running quickly.

This is a company growing rapidly with a big backlog of $1.3 billion, but with 60% of its business coming from one customer it’s not a company that’s well diversified so carries considerable risk.  Also, none of the proceeds from the IPO will go to the company, but rather the investors. 

I suggest reading the two analysis articles below for more in depth details on the company.  As I do with all IPO’s I’ll let it trade for at least two weeks allowing it time to carve out a bullish technical formation. 

A few links of interest:

Presentation by GT Solar executives

Analysis from Small Cap Investor (requires free registration to see entire article)

Analysis from Money Curry (not a fan of all the ads but the analysis is detailed)