My experience is that these industry research firm

My experience is that these industry research firms will interview a company's management confidentially for primary information and verification. They also ask industry participants general questions about each other and piece together their projections. The fact that QMC has solar on its website tells me they would talk about projections to industry analysts without being tied down. The advantage is that it can sometimes lead to projects and business. It's very different from having to report numbers to the SEC or shareholders.