Solar stock First Solar (NASDAQ:FLSR) saw some great gains going into the premarket on Friday, and while it lost most of those gains over the course of Friday afternoon’s trading, the end result was still a positive one for First Solar. Now, it’s up fractionally as new word from Deutsche Bank breathed a little new life into First Solar.
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Deutsche Bank pointed to First Solar’s analyst day presentation and declared that First Solar had what looked like a good plan. With this plan in place, if everything works out as it should, First Solar should see both its performance and its margins improve through 2026. That was enough for Deutsche Bank—via analyst Corinne Blanchard—to hike its rating on First Solar from Hold to Buy. It also hiked its price target on First Solar from $220 per share to $235 on the strength of its plan.
There will, however, be several hurdles for First Solar to face down. First among these is the overall macroeconomic environment. First Solar will likely find itself hard pressed to make much headway in sales thanks to an increasingly cash-strapped consumer whose ability to afford a home, let alone the solar panels to place on or near it, is increasingly hindered. Further, there are other problems; First Solar recently noted that an independent audit found that some of its Malaysian subcontracting operations were engaging in forced labor practices, as expressed in a New York Times report.
Still, this isn’t hindering analysts much. Analyst consensus calls First Solar stock a Moderate Buy, based on 14 Buy ratings and eight Holds. Further, with an average price target of $248.11, First Solar stock offers an upside potential of 36.68%.
