First Solar is up 15% after earnings, and analysts say there's more upside ahead

Published Wed, Oct 28 202010:30 AM EDT

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Shares of First Solar jumped more than 15% on Wednesday following the company's blowout third quarter earnings results , and analysts believe there's more upside ahead for the stock. The company got at least six price target hikes and one upgrade in the wake of its quarterly performance, which saw sales jump 70% year over year. "FSLR is our favorite name in the solar space," said Ben Kallo, analyst at equity research firm Baird. "We like FSLR due to its strong pipeline, continued cost and efficiency improvements, and strong balance sheet which will fund the ramp of Series 6 and provide growth optionality moving forward. We believe shares will trade higher as sentiment continues to improve," he added. Following First Solar's results, Kallo reiterated his outperform rating on the stock and raised his target from $97 to $125, which represents a more than 50% jump from where the stock closed on Tuesday. During the quarter First Solar earned $1.45 per share, which was more than double the 63-cent profit analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting. Revenue came in at $928 million, which was also significantly above the expected $676.5 million. In the same quarter a year ago, the company earned 29 cents per share, on $546.8 million in revenue. During the third quarter First Solar's module production jumped 55% year over year to 1.5 gigawatts direct current. Raymond James noted that the company's gross margin rose to 31.6%, which was up a "whopping" 1,000 basis points quarter over quarter and 600 basis points year over year, boosted by factories averaging over 100% capacity utilization. The firm reiterated its outperform rating on the stock, and lifted its price target to $90 from $80. First Solar also reinstated its full-year guidance, after previously withdrawing it in May as the coronavirus pandemic roiled markets. For 2020 the company expects to generate revenue between $2.6 billion and $2.9 billion, compared with its pre-Covid target of between $2.7 billion and $2.9 billion. "We think the full-year guide is reflective of FSLR's strong competitive position as well as management's ability to execute on system sales as expected," noted JMP Securities' Joe Osha, who has a market outperform rating on the stock. Meanwhile, in a note titled "bull thesis gets a lift," analysts at JPMorgan reiterated their overweight rating on the stock, while raising their target to $94 from $87. First Solar said in a statement that its third quarter earnings were positively impacted by international project sales as well as an increase in the volume of modules sold to third parties. Research firm Roth Capital Partners upgraded shares of First Solar to a buy rating earlier this week and raised its target on the stock to $110 from $100 following the earnings report. But Roth's Philip Shen also reduced his fourth quarter revenue estimate for the company based on sales being pulled forward into the third quarter. Along with the rest of the market, solar experienced a difficult first half of the year as the pandemic ground operations to a halt. This was especially true for rooftop residential solar companies, which have relied on door-to-door sales as a key driver for customer acquisitions. But the solar market has since staged a recovery, and the most recent analysis from research firm Wood Mackenzie predicts global solar PV installations to hit 115 gigawatts direct current this year, up 5% from 2019's total. "First Solar experienced healthy bookings growth during the quarter with 1.6GW of net bookings, up ~100% from 2Q20. This gives us confidence that the solar market continues to recover following a challenging 1H20," Cowen wrote in a note to clients following First Solar's results. The firm reiterated its outperform rating and raised its target on the stock to $100 from $85. Barclays upgraded the stock on Wednesday, but only to an equal weight rating based on declining market share. The firm did, however, nearly double its target on the stock, lifting its forecast to $86 from $45. - CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

A worker installs First Solar Inc. photovoltaic solar panels at the Agua Caliente Solar Project in Yuma County, Arizona.

Joshua Lott | Bloomberg | Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Shares of First Solar jumped more than 15% on Wednesday following the company's blowout third quarter earnings results, and analysts believe there's more upside ahead for the stock.

The company got at least six price target hikes and one upgrade in the wake of its quarterly performance, which saw sales jump 70% year over year.

"FSLR is our favorite name in the solar space," said Ben Kallo, analyst at equity research firm Baird. "We like FSLR due to its strong pipeline, continued cost and efficiency improvements, and strong balance sheet which will fund the ramp of Series 6 and provide growth optionality moving forward. We believe shares will trade higher as sentiment continues to improve," he added.

Following First Solar's results, Kallo reiterated his outperform rating on the stock and raised his target from $97 to $125, which represents a more than 50% jump from where the stock closed on Tuesday.