Solar Panel Company Sunrun's Stock Has Jumped Nearly 300% In 2020

Clean energy stocks have been favorites on the U.S. markets this year as socially conscious investors take the wheel at Wall Street.

The stock of Sunrun (RUN), the biggest rooftop solar company in the U.S., is up nearly 300% so far in 2020, a rally partially helped by expectations of a Joe Biden victory in the elections which may bring with it, powerful government support for renewable energy in the country.

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) has also more than doubled in 2020; the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW) saw a near-double rise in its value. Meanwhile, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund, which includes big oil companies like Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), has plunged by 50%.

When Biden announced his $2 trillion climate plan, renewable energy stocks became attractive for investors. That, with Sunrun’s acquisition of Vivint Solar in a $3.2 billion deal in July, made the company’s outlook strong. After this deal, the company has over 500,000 global customers and more than 3 gigawatts of solar energy capacity.

Sunrun co-founder and CEO Lynn Jurich told CNN there will be a “letdown in renewable names” if Biden does not win, but she is not worried about its impact on the industry’s future.

“In terms of the election, the interesting thing is that solar has huge bipartisan support. That encourages us no matter which direction the election goes,” Jurich is quoted as saying in the report.

The stock has been off its highs recently on the back of a weak second-quarter owing to COVID-19 pandemic, but the market is eyeing Sunrun’s third-quarter earnings to be announced on Thursday.

The markets have been rough for big oil companies like ExxonMobil, the most valuable company on earth in 2013, which was recently dethroned by solar and wind company NextEra as America’s most valuable energy company.

Jurich said this is a sign that renewables will be faster-growing and more affordable for global power requirements.

“Sunrun has a chance to become the next Amazon of clean energy. Investor hype over alternative energy stocks, combined with a catalyst from the White House, will propel the stock higher in the short run,” market analyst Thomas Yeung wrote in a report.

Solar energy, while a resource with a lot of promise, is yet to become a mainstream source of power in the U.S., with only 3% of the households using solar panels.

In Q2, Sunrun reported a loss of $13.6 million and an 11% fall in revenue for the quarter on a year-over-year basis. Product sales revenue and solar energy systems revenue fell by 33%.