Analysts cool on First Solar (FSLR)

Before they were an Arizona company they were an Ohio company and have a large presence in Perrysburg. The Blade keeps track of what's what.

From the Toledo Blade:

New competitors, high stock price spur ratings dip

Theo O’Neill isn’t surprised that the CEO’s sale of $400 million in company stock over the past two years raised eyebrows this week among investors at Toledo-born First Solar Inc.

But Mr. O’Neill, a Wall Street financial analyst, has bigger concerns.

He expects that a key group of rivals will become more competitive with First Solar as a result of possibly steep price decreases in an important raw material they use.

And he predicts that production of thin-film panels like those made at First Solar will increase greatly as equipment-maker Applied Materials Inc. begins to sell its manufacturing lines worldwide to newly formed firms.

“Applied Materials has nearly a $2 billion backlog of equipment orders,” Mr. O’Neill said. “They are setting up competitors all over the world for First Solar.”>>>MUCH MORE