Shares of solar-sector concern MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR: sentiment, chart, options) have plunged sharply lower in after-hours trading after the company missed analyst expectations by 8 cents per share. For the second quarter, WFR reported an ex-items profit of 92 cents per share on sales of $531.4 million. Analysts were looking for a profit of $1.00 per share on revenue of $557.92 million.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects third-quarter revenue of about $560 million to $620 million and fiscal 2008 earnings of about $4.00 to $4.30 per share excluding items. Both figures were inline, or slightly below, the current consensus estimates of third-quarter sales of $620.01 million and 2008 earnings of $4.24 per share.

Optimism was running high toward the shares heading into the report, as the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.48 indicates that calls nearly double puts among near-term options. Furthermore, this ratio ranks below 94% of all those taken during the past year, hinting at a bullish extreme among options speculators. Wall Street was also firmly in WFR's corner, as Zacks reports that 11 of the 14 analysts covering the shares rate them a "buy" or better.

At last check, WFR was trading nearly 25% lower in electronic trading, near the 40 level and an annual low for the equity.