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First Solar (FSLR) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, First Solar (FSLR - Free Report) closed at $84.01, marking a +0.32% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.34% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.4%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.47%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. solar company had gained 24.3% over the past month. This has outpaced the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 7.96% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.75% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from First Solar as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect First Solar to post earnings of $1.05 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 46.43%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $616.35 million, down 23.28% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $0.73 per share and revenue of $2.54 billion. These totals would mark changes of -83.33% and -12.97%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for First Solar. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.42% higher within the past month. First Solar is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that First Solar has a Forward P/E ratio of 114.26 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 49.87.
It is also worth noting that FSLR currently has a PEG ratio of 12.07. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Solar stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 4.87 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 233, which puts it in the bottom 8% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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First Solar (FSLR) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, First Solar (FSLR - Free Report) closed at $84.01, marking a +0.32% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.34% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.4%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.47%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. solar company had gained 24.3% over the past month. This has outpaced the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 7.96% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.75% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from First Solar as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect First Solar to post earnings of $1.05 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 46.43%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $616.35 million, down 23.28% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $0.73 per share and revenue of $2.54 billion. These totals would mark changes of -83.33% and -12.97%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for First Solar. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.42% higher within the past month. First Solar is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that First Solar has a Forward P/E ratio of 114.26 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 49.87.
It is also worth noting that FSLR currently has a PEG ratio of 12.07. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Solar stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 4.87 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 233, which puts it in the bottom 8% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.