The 5 Dumbest Things on Wall Street: Feb. 17

2. Energy Conversion Convulsion

In case you were off buying flowers and missed it, Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday. Yes, despite it being Valentine's Day, the market offered neither a hug nor kiss for the downtrodden U.S. solar manufacturer as the company's shares sank 80% to 29 cents each.

Wait a second! Wasn't this company the object of everybody's affection for the past month rallying from 20 cents at the start of the year to $1.50? What the heck happened?

Put simply: Love stinks, short squeezes happen and this company never turned a profit in 30 years, so what on earth did you expect?

The bankruptcy shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone. Like the other three major solar bankruptcies in the past year -- Evergreen Solar, Solyndra and SpectraWatt -- Energy Conversion struggled to keep costs down as prices on solar panels fell. Not helping the matter, European governments slashed their solar subsidies, making fossil fuels all the more attractive.

In the end, the only real issue in Energy Conversion's bankruptcy was timing, which also may have factored into the stock's ridiculous January run.

Because its convertible notes weren't due until 2013, there was a chance that the company wouldn't be forced to act until that bond deadline. Energy Conversion said in a press release about its bankruptcy, though, that it had reached an agreement with 70% of those bond holders, enabling the company to officially call it quits.

On a positive note, Energy Conversion was able to sell its battery subsidiary to BASF for $58 million. Nevertheless, the company now faces the grim prospect of trying to find a buyer for its manufacturing operations in bankruptcy, a task made even harder with solar stocks sagging and the political stink of Solyndra still lingering.

Yes all you hopeless romantics, Energy Conversion found misery instead of love this Valentine's Day. And now it has plenty of company.

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