SunPower shares are holding up
It’s good to see that SunPower Corp. closed the week at $26 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, eight days after the company’s initial public offering at $18 a share. Company shares gained more than 50 per cent on their first day of trading, just cracking $28, and while the stock has since settled down a bit it’s clear that SunPower has credibility with investors. I think many people were watching to see if the shares would begin to sink significantly after the initial enthusiasm with the IPO began to wane. Certainly this builds confidence in other solar power companies out there who are considering IPOs, including ATS Automation and its solar group (Photowatt and Spheral Solar Power). That said, sources tell me that ATS is now in no rush to spin off its solar group, so we may have to wait until later next year for the company to make its move.

Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.