Auriga Upgrades First Solar (FSLR) to Buy
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Price: $271.17 +1,355,750.00%
Rating Summary:
35 Buy, 20 Hold, 3 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 10 | Down: 6 | New: 39
Rating Summary:
35 Buy, 20 Hold, 3 Sell
Rating Trend:
Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 10 | Down: 6 | New: 39
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Auriga upgraded First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) from Hold to Buy with a $160 price target.
The firm states, "Although the Italian solar market still faces an uncertain subsidy regime, management was certain enough to reaffirm its 2011 guidance on its Q1 conference call. First Solar modules remain in high demand given the combination of low price and high energy yield, which further translates into a competitive LCOE and higher projects IRRs. While the European markets are flush with modules given the pause in Italy, we are confident that a mini gold-rush across Europe will follow once the Italian authorities finalize their legislation. Any cut to the current subsidy program will be deemed a negative data point; however, project investors only need certainty in order to price their PV projects. In our view, if project IRRs remain above investment hurdle rates and the availability of debt financing is not curtailed, we believe that the rate of PV installations will dramatically increase in order to beat the next inevitable subsidy cut. First Solar is positioned to capitalize in each of the major European solar markets, the company has flexibility to increase project installations in the U.S., and First Solar continues to penetrate new markets in Asia. We also recognize management's historical accuracy of forecasting both sales and profitability, thus the reiteration of 2011 guidance speaks volumes to us. We encourage investors to be aggressive buyers on weakness, and see ~20% upside to current prices. Our new target price of $160 is 15x our 2012 EPS estimate of $10.66. Our previous $166 target price was 15x our prior 2012 EPS of $11.15."
For more ratings news on First Solar click here and for the rating history of First Solar click here.
Shares of First Solar closed at $134.66 yesterday.
The firm states, "Although the Italian solar market still faces an uncertain subsidy regime, management was certain enough to reaffirm its 2011 guidance on its Q1 conference call. First Solar modules remain in high demand given the combination of low price and high energy yield, which further translates into a competitive LCOE and higher projects IRRs. While the European markets are flush with modules given the pause in Italy, we are confident that a mini gold-rush across Europe will follow once the Italian authorities finalize their legislation. Any cut to the current subsidy program will be deemed a negative data point; however, project investors only need certainty in order to price their PV projects. In our view, if project IRRs remain above investment hurdle rates and the availability of debt financing is not curtailed, we believe that the rate of PV installations will dramatically increase in order to beat the next inevitable subsidy cut. First Solar is positioned to capitalize in each of the major European solar markets, the company has flexibility to increase project installations in the U.S., and First Solar continues to penetrate new markets in Asia. We also recognize management's historical accuracy of forecasting both sales and profitability, thus the reiteration of 2011 guidance speaks volumes to us. We encourage investors to be aggressive buyers on weakness, and see ~20% upside to current prices. Our new target price of $160 is 15x our 2012 EPS estimate of $10.66. Our previous $166 target price was 15x our prior 2012 EPS of $11.15."
For more ratings news on First Solar click here and for the rating history of First Solar click here.
Shares of First Solar closed at $134.66 yesterday.
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