First Solar (FSLR) closed at $179.72 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.07% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.06% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.38%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.44%.
The stock of largest U.S. solar company has fallen by 14.93% in the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 1.73% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.36%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of First Solar in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $4.64, showcasing a 9.43% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.31 billion, showing a 17.68% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $17.68 per share and revenue of $5.06 billion, indicating changes of +24.42% and -2.99%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for First Solar. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.48% downward. Right now, First Solar possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, First Solar is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.06. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.59, which means First Solar is trading at a discount to the group.
We can additionally observe that FSLR currently boasts a PEG ratio of 0.48. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Solar industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.82 as of yesterday's close.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 219, positioning it in the bottom 11% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
First Solar, Inc. (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).