UPDATE: Auriga Lowers PT on Suntech Power Holdings to $10

Auriga is out with its report today on Suntech Power Holdings STP, maintaining Buy. In a note to clients, Auriga writes, "We maintain our Buy-rating for shares of Suntech after a surprisingly decent Q1 report. STP was the last of the solar names to report Q1 results and, after many peer pre-announcements, disappointing shipments and increasing balance sheet stress, we were pleasantly surprised that STP was not worse. With Q1 operational results in-line with our expectations and 2011 shipment guidance unchanged, very little is unexpected here for us. The integration of wafering facilities is going well but leads to a higher tax rate which, combined with higher interest payments, drives our EPS estimates lower; we see opportunity for taxes and interest payments to come lower again in 2012 but feel it prudent to wait until evidence is clear before incorporating them into our estimates. Our $10 target is 8x our 2012 EPS estimate of $1.29, down from our prior $13 which was 8x our old 2012 estimate of $1.63." Shares of STP closed Wednesday at $7.41, down 3.26% from Tuesday's close.