14/05/2025 09:24

First Solar (FSLR US) $US191.60

Renewable stocks were in focus overnight after the House Republicans released a draft framework to extend President Trump's tax cuts, which would also overhaul President Joe Biden's climate law,  eliminating or phasing out tax credits for renewables, forecast to save the government more than $560 billion on energy tax credits over 10 years. Important to recognise that this is just a first crack at reducing the amount given back to renewables companies to help fund Trump’s wider tax cuts, but it does show where the focus will be, and who the likely winners and losers are.

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13/05/2025 09:21

First Solar Inc (FSLR US) $US156.21

Plenty of pockets of the markets illustrated how relative performance can unfold into Christmas as risk regains the ascendancy. A couple of beaten-up stocks in our International Equities Portfolio ran hard overnight, including First Solar (FSLR US),  YETI Holdings (YETI US), and The Trade Desk (TTD US), new wave of optimism washed through stocks, i.e. what trade war, what recession!

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02/05/2025 09:28

First Solar (FSLR US) US$126.57

The American-based solar technology company reported quarterly earnings late on Tuesday that were lower than expected, and they downgraded FY25 guidance. While this was not a significant shock given the weakness in the shares leading into the result, with FSLR now trading on just 7x earnings, shares did react negatively.

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26/02/2025 09:38

First Solar (FSLR US) $US147.46

As was expected (and priced to a degree), FSLR US reported 4Q earnings this morning and issued FY25 guidance, both were below consensus, though everything we’ve read and heard from the buy side (fund mangers rather than sell side brokers) was an expectation that this result would be on the softer result.

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11/02/2025 15:01

International Equities Portfolio – Amendments

We are trimming an overweight position and adding a new position in the International Equities Portfolio.

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30/10/2024 13:15

First Solar (FSLR US) US$199.67

A weaker than hoped 3Q from FSLR released after market overnight, with a downgrade to FY24 guidance to boot – shares traded down ~2.6%  after hours, having been down ~7% initially. 

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23/10/2024 09:15

First Solar (FSLR US) $US201.40

The widely held view is that solar and renewables, more generally, will have a tougher time under a Trump administration than they would under Kamala Harris. As the chances of that occurring have firmed, FSLR has been sold off - a logical reaction. Our 6% holding in the International Equities Portfolio is now only up ~8% as the stock pulled back from a recent high of $US300 down to $US200.

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11/10/2024 09:33

First Solar (FSLR US) $US205.04

Two days ago, HSBC put out a very bullish note on the manufacturer of commercial solar panels with a buy rating and a bullish $358 price target. That bullish view was rebuffed overnight by Jeffries, who flagged the potential for a soft upcoming quarterly result due out later this month.

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31/07/2024 09:23

First Solar (FSLR US) $210.89

The solar technology manufacturing produced revenue of $1bn for the quarter, up from $811m a year earlier and well ahead of consensus of $940m. Earnings per share (EPS) $3.25 compared with $2.71 expected, while they reconfirmed full-year guidance of $13 to $14 a share, from sales of $4.4-4.6bn

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03/07/2024 09:08

First Solar (FSLR US) US$216.73

It’s been a very volatile period for US-based solar company First Solar, having rallied significantly on the expectation that AI will drive huge demand for their industrial solar applications in coming years, thanks to a very bullish piece written by UBS (we covered here). The rally from below $US200 was aggressive, and now the pullback has been equally sharp, with Joe Biden’s dismal performance in the first debate the main reason. First Solar has benefitted from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act which incentivises US manufacturing, with Trump calling the scheme the “green new scam”. This raised concerns about a Trump victory's impact on renewable energy stocks.

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