Shares of photovoltaic solar products products maker, DayStar Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: DSTI) rallied more than 75 percent from Wednesday’s closing price in morning trading on Thursday after the company announced that it is pursuing a strategy for offshore manufacturing of its CIGS thin-film deposition technology solar modules.

DayStar Technologies has “begun discussions with several potential partners,” which if consummated “could include joint ventures, licensing agreements, contract manufacturing agreements,” or even a reverse merger with or an acquisition of DayStar, according to CEO Magnus Ryde. “We are confident in our core proprietary CIGS technology and believe that completing a transaction with a strategic partner and manufacturing our CIGS modules offshore would provide the best opportunity to bring our product to market and to manufacture the product in the most cost effective manner,” said Ryde in a statement.
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DayStar was notified by its landlord, BMR-Gateway Boulevard LLC that the Company’s lease for the premises located at 7333-7373 Gateway Boulevard in Newark, California has been terminated.

For the first quarter, DayStar reported a net loss of $6.1 million or $1.61 per share, compared with a net loss of $7.7 million or $2.06 per share in the first quarter of 2009. The average shares outstanding and loss per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 reflect the 1-for-9 reverse stock split implemented by DayStar on May 11, 2010. DayStar’s common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on a split adjusted basis on March 12, 2010.

Solar stocks continue to have some buzz around them with stocks like STR Holdings (Nasdaq: STRI), Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF), Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL), JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO), Renesola (NYSE: SOL), and GT Solar (Nasdaq: SOLR) all showing strong relative strength to the overall market the past year. Simmons & Co analyst Burt Chao recently told Reuters that “if we haven’t passed the bottom, we’re very, very close to it.” A look at the Solar Stocks Index shows that there is certainly no shortage of domestic components. However, data from the Solar Energy Industries Association suggests that solar power accounts for less than 1% of U.S. energy usage.