This is turning into 'First Solar" week at CI. Apologies to those not interested, I'll try to find something for ya.
Eric Savitz gets the best early take on Cantor's call. From Tech Trader Daily:
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Dale Pfau this morning launched coverage of First Solar (FSLR) with a Sell rating and $70 price target, well below yesterday’s close at $109.36.
Pfau notes that the company in 2009 received 86% of revenue from European Union countries - and he thinks that leaves it vulnerable to the current troubles in the European economy.
“We are taking a bearish outlook on the development of the EU PV market in 2011 due to the effects of decreased subsidies and economic austerity measures,” he writes. “Furthermore, we are also taking a bearish view of the $/euro exchange rate to establish what we believe will be a low target price.”
On the positive side, he adds, First Solar has a pipeline of 2.2 GW of captive projects in the U.S. that should buffer ASP declines and allow the company to grow through a very challenging solar environment in 2011....MORE
