Friday, May 29, 2015

RBC Explains Their Downgrade of First Solar (FSLR)

Following up on Tuesday's "First Solar shares down 6% after downgrade".
$50.75 at the close, off another 6 cents premarket.
From CNBC May 27, 2014:

This may be the ultimate battleground stock
Shares of volatile First Solar plunged 7 percent after a downgrade and price target cut from RBC. The extent of the downgrade, and Wall Street's outsized reaction, are the latest evidence of just what a battleground the solar energy company's shares have become.

RBC's Mahesh Sanganeria cut his rating from sector perform to underperform and slashed his price target to $34 from $54, which had been in line with Friday's closing price. After Tuesday's plunge, the stock closed at $51.06.

In an interview with CNBC's "Trading Nation," the analyst explained that he's projecting that both revenues and gross margins fall.

"If you put those things together, we get an earnings estimate which is $1.37, whereas the consensus numbers are a big range from $2 to $5," Sanganeria said.

The analyst added that "the big range in consensus tells you there is a misunderstanding on the company's earnings power, and that's what we are trying to point at, that there may be a disappointment in terms of earnings in 2016."....MORE