Today, shares of First Solar (NASDAQ) traded 5% higher after Kashy Harrison (Piper Sandler analyst), upgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight and set a $90.00 price target for each share (up from $80.00).

Analyst sees strong volume/pricing visibility for 2024 due to the momentum in recent bookings, fueled by AD/CVD investigations.

“We view ’22 as a trough margin year and see the potential for improving COGS as logistics normalize, new contracting structures de-risking margins manifest in ’23/’24, and startup expenses associated with facility construction subside,” Harrison said in a client note.

According to the analyst, revenues and EBITDA are expected to rise from $2.4/$0.1B now to $4.3/$1.2B later in the year.

“Our upgrade is not a call on a tariff outcome as FSLR could have pricing/volume visibility through much of ’25 by the time a preliminary tariff is announced in August. FSLR also has an option value if an Energy Bill is passed. (Lower probability… exempt from valuation). At 4.5x ’24 EV/EBITDA with $1.1B of net cash expected at YE’22, we like FSLR’s lower risk multi-year earnings growth outlook,” Harrison added.

FSLR shares have fallen more than 30% YTD

By Senad Karaahmetovic