First Solar (FSLR) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
First Solar (FSLR) closed at $168.26 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.88% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.02%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.03%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 5.44%.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. solar company had gained 14.16% over the past month, outpacing the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 2.6% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.57% in that time.
First Solar will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, First Solar is projected to report earnings of -$0.17 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 113.82%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $998.29 million, up 10.03% 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. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.4% higher within the past month. First Solar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, First Solar is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 33.9. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 33.9, so we one might conclude that First Solar is trading at a no noticeable deviation comparatively.
Also, we should mention that FSLR has a PEG ratio of 0.63. 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. FSLR's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.83 as of yesterday's close.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 27, which puts it in the top 11% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
