First Solar (FSLR) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

In the latest trading session, First Solar (FSLR) closed at $184.70, marking a -2.94% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.4% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.11%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.73%.

Shares of the largest U.S. solar company have depreciated by 3.5% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 10.64%, and outperforming the S&P 500's loss of 7.34%.

The upcoming earnings release of First Solar will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.8, up 43.59% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.05 billion, up 23.93% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $18.57 per share and revenue of $5.1 billion, which would represent changes of +30.68% and -2.33%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for First Solar. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 11.08% lower. First Solar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Investors should also note First Solar's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 10.24. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 17.17 for its industry.

We can additionally observe that FSLR currently boasts a PEG ratio of 0.33. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Solar industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.65.

The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 180, this industry ranks in the bottom 27% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

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First Solar, Inc. (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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