SunEdison Casts A Cloud On Solar ETFs

Solar energy stocks and sector-related exchange traded funds dimmed Tuesday, plunging below their short-term trend line, as an unexpectedly poor third quarter from SunEdison (NasdaqGS: SUNE) dragged on the industry.

On Tuesday, the Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSEArca: TAN) fell 5.3% and the Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca: KWT) dropped 5.4%. Both TAN and KWT dipped below their short-term, 50-day simple moving average.

Solar stocks weakened Tuesday after U.S. solar company SunEdison revealed a bigger-than-expected third-quarter loss of $0.92 per share, compared to estimates of $0.65, reports Chris Martin for Bloomberg.

SunEdison shares plunged 21.0% Tuesday and traded as low as $5.59 earlier in the day, its lowest level in over two years.

SUNE makes up 4.9% of TAN and 4.6% of KWT.

Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Chatila has laid off workers and slowed growth to assuage investor fears about the company’s financial liquidity.

SunEdison spent more than $6 billion on acquisitions over the past year, which has led to funding concerns for additional projects. Due to its ballooning costs, the firm cut 15% of its workforce last month, Reuters reports.