What: Shares of JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (JKS -0.46%) have plunged 21% since the beginning of June and despite a solidly profitable business, investors aren't seeing a lot of value in the company's shares today.
So what: There are a few macro factors impacting shares that may not have a lot of impact on the business. The first is that oil prices have plunged since early July, which tends to pressure solar stocks despite the fact that the two energy sources rarely compete head to head.
Potentially more concerning is the pending rise in interest rates, which won't directly impact solar panel sales but could make solar projects less economical given their long life spans. When debt is cheap it makes each kWh of electricity less costly, so if rates rise so will the effective price of solar energy.
Now what: Neither of these factors are deal breakers for renewable energy but they clearly can dominate the market in the short-term. I would be leery of Chinese solar stocks because of their history of failure for investors and the lack of technological differentiation, but as a profitable manufacturer JinkoSolar is better off than most competitors. At the very least, the drop in the past month or so is driven by factors that solar investors shouldn't lose a lot of sleep over even if the market panics about them on a daily basis.
