First Solar Gains Steam As Raymond James Upgrades To Market Perform

Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov upgraded First Solar Inc FSLR from Underperform to Market Perform without a price target.

• Following a rash of negative headlines and the resulting pressure on the stock, the risk/reward has become more balanced.
• Amid many tariff barriers in place, any steps in the opposite direction have the effect of intensifying competition, leading to margin erosion for First Solar.
• Including its 4Q drop of 8%, the WilderHill Clean Energy Index (ECO) posted a 2021 decline of 30%, but that statistic, in isolation, is meaningless. 
• Molchanov looks at the profit-taking of 2021 as entirely reasonable and indeed healthy as it came after outsized gains for two straight years: 58% in 2019 and a stunning, record-setting 203% in 2020. 
• Aggregating the past three years, the ECO gained 232%, more than double the S&P 500's 92%. 
• First Solar designs and manufactures solar photovoltaic panels, modules, and systems in utility-scale development projects. The company's solar modules use cadmium telluride to convert sunlight into electricity.
• Price Action: FSLR shares traded higher by 2.94% at $91.18 in the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.