First Solar (FSLR) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
First Solar (FSLR) closed at $165.04 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.33% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.03%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.46%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 3.16%.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. solar company had lost 7.18% over the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 0.95% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.6% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from First Solar as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.18, down 114.63% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $997.4 million, up 9.93% from the prior-year quarter.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for First Solar should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 13.37% higher. First Solar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that First Solar has a Forward P/E ratio of 32.99 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 32.99, which means First Solar is trading at a no noticeable deviation to the group.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, putting it in the top 20% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.
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, Inc. (FSLR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
