New York, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 1, 2014 / SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research and corporate access firm focused on small-cap and micro-cap public companies, today announced it has issued a 3Q14 update note on Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI), a developer of thin-film photovoltaic modules with substrate materials that are more flexible, versatile and rugged than traditional solar panels.

The note is available here: ASTI 3Q14 Update. SeeThruEquity is an approved equity research contributor on Thomson First Call, Capital IQ, FactSet, and Zack's. The report will also be available on these platforms.

"Ascent closed on a deal which will secure the company $35mn in financing. As we noted in our initiation piece on Ascent, we felt that continued access to new capital to fund growth would be a critical need for the company to execute to its operating plan. We view this raise, which is comprised of $32mn of senior secured convertible notes, $3mn of Series D convertible preferred stock, and warrants to purchase common stock, as a key milestone for the company, and expect that it will enable Ascent to make the necessary investments to expand the retail presence of EnerPlex products in the United States, Europe and Asia," commented Ajay Tandon, CEO of SeeThruEquity. "We are reiterating our target price of $3.00 per share."

Additional highlights from the note are as follows:

Financing paves way for growth investments
On November 20, 2014, Ascent closed on a deal which will secure the company $35mn in financing. As we noted in our initiation piece on Ascent, we felt that continued access to new capital to fund growth would be a critical need for the company to execute to its operating plan. We view this raise, which is comprised of $32mn of senior secured convertible notes, $3mn of Series D convertible preferred stock, and warrants to purchase common stock, as a key milestone for the company, and expect that it will enable Ascent to make the necessary investments to expand the retail presence of EnerPlex products in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Ascent has already received the $4.5mn of this $35mn raise, and the remaining amount is being held in a restricted control account while the company obtains stockholder approval. After approval, the company will receive $2.5mn, followed by installments of $6mn every 90 days therafter. The notes mature in May 2018 and carry an effective interest rate of 7% per annum. The conversion price on the notes and convertible preferred stock is $2.25 per share. The company has the option to pay both the principal and interest on the notes using cash and/or common equity in equal amounts.

3Q14 results and guidance show continued progress
Ascent reported 3Q14 results that demonstrated continued progress in the company's turnaround and the launch of the EnerPlex brand. On the top line, revenues came in at $1.1mn, which was in line with our estimate of $1.1mn. This marked the second quarter in a row during which the company reported revenues in excess of $1mn, a trend we expect to continue in 4Q14. Further, Ascent's management team reiterated its guidance for the year, for revenue to increase by approximately fourfold to a range of $5-6mn. The company noted that it had already shipped or received orders for $2mn of product during the quarter, expecting revenues to at least double sequentially into 4Q14. We are maintaining our revenue estimate for $2.5mn for 4Q14. EPS came in at ($1.09), worse than our estimates. Given higher operating expenses in the quarter than our model, we are changing our EPS estimates for 2014E to ($3.60) from ($3.12).

Please review important disclosures on our website at www.seethruequity.com.

About Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc.
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is a developer of thin-film photovoltaic modules with substrate materials that are more flexible, versatile and rugged than traditional solar panels. Ascent Solar modules can be directly integrated into consumer products and off-grid applications, as well as aerospace and building integrated applications.

Ascent Solar is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado. For more information, go to www.goenerplex.com or www.ascentsolar.com.

About SeeThruEquity
SeeThruEquity is an equity research and corporate access firm focused on companies with less than $1 billion in market capitalization. The research is not paid for and is unbiased. We do not conduct any investment banking or commission based business. We are approved to contribute our research to Thomson One Analytics (First Call), Capital IQ, FactSet, Zacks, and distribute our research to our database of opt-in investors. We also contribute our estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.

For more information visit www.seethruequity.com.

Contact:

Ajay Tandon
SeeThruEquity
(646) 495-0939

SOURCE: SeeThruEquity