7-21-08

The investment community has been abuzz about solar stocks lately, and Jim Cramer is no exception. At Stockpickr, we've combed through his RealMoney blog posts, "Mad Money" TV show episodes and activity in the Stockpickr Answers community and compiled the highlights of what Cramer's had to say about playing the solar energy craze.

First Solar (FSLR): On July 9, Cramer recommended this stock during his "Mad Money" Lightning Roundsegment on CNBC. He'd endorsed it just a couple of weeks before during another Lightning Round segment.

He also mentioned the stock in an article for MainStreet.com called "Be Aggressive in Your 20s."

Evergreen Solar (ESLR): A caller during the June 9 Lightning Round segment asked about Evergreen, but Cramer wasn't ready to pull the trigger yet. He called the stock "too speculative" and recommended First Solar instead.

Canadian Solar (CSIQ): In his June 30 Lightning Round segment , Cramer responded to a caller interested in Canadian Solar with a Don'tBuy. "We don't care where a stock has been," he said, "only where it's going, and the answer is down."

Applied Materials (AMAT): Rather than Canadian Solar, Cramer told his June 30 caller, "I've endorsed Applied Materials or First Solar, and that's it."

Trina Solar (TSL): On June 11, Cramer received a Lightning Round call about Trina Solar. Cramer said he preferred wind power to solar: "Solar is just too dangerous."

Energy Conversion Devices (ENER): Cramer told viewers to "take advantage of this company" when it came up during his July 17 Lightning Round segment. "It's one of the best alternative energy plays out there," he said. He also responded on Stockpickr Answers to an investor's question about green plays that mentioned the stock.

A note from James Altucher:

Every weekend I send an email to Jim Cramer and several hedge fund managers about the most interesting portfolios posted on Stockpickr that week. Usually those portfolios not only list stocks according to a theme but also offer significant analysis as to why the stocks are cheap.

Here are some examples:

Stocks related to drilling the Marcellus Shale

MLPS with yields above 7%

Microcaps trading for less than tangible book

Stocks that do well after Hurricanes

Here's the challenge: Build a portfolio at Stockpickr.com with great analysis, and send me the link. Each great portfolio (with analysis) will get posted on TheStreet.com with your byline (as a "Stockpickr Guest Columnist") and will be included in my email I send to Jim and the other
hedge fund managers on my list.