Citi is out this morning maintaining its Hold rating on First Solar (FSLR), but lowered the price target from $135 to $125. Hat tip to Street Insider for the analyst comment.
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“We have long argued that EPS here will not start to meaningfully grow again until 2012, following three years of stagnating EPS (2009-2011). While we still rate the stock Hold, we continue to feel our … Read the rest
Needham & Company has come out with updates on their ratings of several solar stocks. Hat tip to Street Insider for the analyst comments:
Initiated coverage on First Solar (FSLR) with an Underperform and $92 price target.
“As the world’s largest producer of solar panels with the best cost structure, First Solar is benefiting from strong near-term demand and a growing pipeline of utility scale solar projects. However, we are concerned that margins will deteriorate … Read the rest
According to Reuters, demand for solar panels has risen so sharply that industry leader First Solar is unable to keep up. Although First Solar’s business slowed down in the 3rd quarter, it is expected to pick up in the fourth, despite German solar subsidy cuts that are expected to hit July 1.
Reuters quotes First Solar’s Stephan Hansen saying “In 2010 we will not be able to produce enough modules to meet demand.”
Suntech … Read the rest
A little more than a month ago, Auriga initiated coverage on solar stocks and was generally bullish outside of its Sunpower (SPWRA) Sell rating. This morning, the firm is slashing price targets of some China solar companies, but is bullish in First Solar (FSLR). I don’t really understand the cutting of price estimates right now which are due to Euro exposure. The Euro has been deteriorating for some time now. Granted, Euro weakness has accelerated … Read the rest
Credit Suisse demonstrates once again why analyst estimates and ratings are for the most part worthless. Rarely are analysts ahead of the curve and Credit Suisse is no exception. They are out this morning maintaining their Neutral and Outperform ratings, but cutting price targets well after these stocks have plummeted to new lows. I believe solar stocks are close to bottoming out, based on some minor capitulation moves seen yesterday. Many are ripping higher again … Read the rest
Street Insider was out with a research note from iSuppli today forecasting big growth in solar leader Germany ahead of the feed-in-tariff reduction in July which will have companies scrambling to complete installations. That’s not too much of a surprise, but the firm also sees significant growth after the tariff reduction, particularly in rooftop solar systems.
They are forecasting 6.6GW of solar installations for 2010 in Germany which is a 70% increase over last year, … Read the rest
A couple analyst ratings notes in the solar space this morning.
Needham reiterated its Buy rating on Applied Materials (AMAT) and price target of $18 following its earnings report last night. “AMAT F2Q10 (Apr) results beat expectation and guidance was above consensus. We believe the report was largely inline with buy-side expectations. We are encouraged by the company’s decision to take further steps to scale back SunFab, but we are a bit disappointed by the … Read the rest
Lots of analyst reaction to First Solar (FSLR) earnings last night. Here’s the run down with a hat tip to Street Insider for the analyst commentary.
Buy Ratings
Brigantine Advisors reiterates its Buy rating and raises the price target from $144 to $150.
“Investor sentiment in the solar sector has been weak for much of this year, and we think the strong report from First Solar will go a long way to allay most concerns. … Read the rest
Deutsche Bank is out with Buy ratings this morning after First Solar (FSLR) and Itron (ITRI) reported strong earnings results last night.
They have upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to Buy and raised the price target from $125 to $155. “The company has demonstrated great flexibility with its business, and has built a captive project pipeline that can insulate the company should individual markets wither, or module ASPs come under great pressure.”
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I thought I’d go back and issue a winners and losers report for the analyst calls heading into earnings on First Solar. Soleil stands alone in its own “Lacking Balls” category.
Winners
Kudos to Kaufman Bros for the good call back in March when they called First Solar “the preeminent stock in the solar space” which should represent a “core holding for investors.” They reinstated the Buy rating and slapped a $140 price target on … Read the rest