First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Gains on Promising Q4 Results

Shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) gained more than 4% in yesterday’s extended trade after reporting a narrower-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter of 2022. Further, the company provided an upbeat outlook for 2023 based on its strong order backlog and increased manufacturing capacity.

First Solar is a solar technology company and global provider of photovoltaic cells (PV) solar energy solutions.

Q4 Snapshot

The company reported a Q4 loss per share of $0.07 compared with earnings per share of $1.23 in last year’s quarter. The figure came ahead of analysts’ forecasts of a loss of $0.17.

Meanwhile, quarterly revenues increased 10.5% year-over-year at $1 billion but matched the consensus estimate. The growth can be attributed to higher module sales and the sale of First Solar’s Luz del Norte project in Chile in the reported quarter.

As of the Q4 earnings call, the company had a total backlog of future deliveries of 67.7 gigawatts. This compares favorably with net bookings of 48.3 gigawatts in 2022.

2023 Outlook

Regarding the full-year guidance, First Solar expects net sales to be between $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion. Moreover, operating income is anticipated to be in the range of $745 million to $870 million. Lastly, earnings per diluted share is expected to be between $7 to $8.

First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said, “We enter this year in a significantly stronger commercial, operational, and financial position, with increased R&D investment, new domestic and international capacity coming online, and a new Series 7 product.”

Is FSLR a Buy or Sell?

Wall Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock. First Solar has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on nine Buys and five Holds. The average FSLR stock price target of $194.19 implies 14.8% upside potential from current levels. Shares have gained about 16% so far in 2023.

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