First Solar (FSLR) Stock Slips, Downgraded at Deutsche Bank
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of First Solar (FSLR) - Get Report are falling 3.11% to $47.60 in pre-market trading on Thursday after Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy."
The firm also slashed its price target to $44 from $80 on shares of the Tempe, AZ-based solar energy solutions company.
The downgrade is due to "1) slower than expected ramp in bookings; 2) likely pause in demand ahead of the series 5 ramp and 3) potential increase in pricing pressure, driven by aggressive bidding environment from the developers in international segments," Deutsche Bank wrote in an analyst note.
Deutsche Bank expects 2017 earnings per share of $1.50 compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 and 2018 earnings per share of about $2.50 vs. Wall Street's forecast of $3.98.
"Even though FSLR remains one of the best run companies in our coverage, we believe it would be difficult for management to grow earnings amidst some of the expected near term headwinds," the firm noted.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings Team has a "Hold" rating with a score of C+ on the stock.
The primary factors that have impacted the rating are mixed. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and reasonable valuation levels.
However, the team finds that the growth in the company's earnings per share has not been good.
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: FSLR