First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR)
First Solar, Inc. (FSLR), a solar energy solutions company announced positive preliminary third quarter 2015 financial results on Thursday.
First Solar, Inc. Earnings and Outlook
Record Quarterly Net Sales of $1.3 billion. Company reported $3.38 earnings per share crushing analysts estimates of $1.55. Raised preliminary 2015 EPS guidance to $4.30 to $4.50.
First Solar, Inc. CEO Comments
“We had tremendous execution in the third quarter from both a financial and bookings perspective,” said Jim Hughes, CEO of First Solar. Business Wire “We have now exceeded our book-to-bill target for the year, booked over 1GWdc of volume with deliveries after 2016, achieved strong quarterly earnings and have significantly raised our full year earnings guidance. We remain confident in our long term strategy and our ability to execute successfully.”
FSLR Technical Analysis
FSLR gapped up in price on Friday to $56.94, up from the prior day’s close of $50.99, which is a 12% increase in price based on favorable news. Taking a look at the daily chart, we can see the last time the stock traded above this price level was on May 1st, when it closed at $57.34. Recently, FSLR has been rallying off the September 28th lows of $40.51. Taking a further look back on the chart, we can see a double top formation on June 15th and August 10th at the $53.50 price level. With this recent gap up in price, we shot through that double top and I would expect that to be the support level for the stock on any future moves up. The stock does have a high float of 74 million shares and is trading on over 2 times the normal daily trading volume. The stock did reach pre market highs of $58.25 but it gave back $1.31, or equivalent to 2%. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been $57.00 looking for a run up to $58.00. My stop loss would have been $56.80 fearing anything below that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
First Solar, Inc. provides solar energy solutions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Components and Systems. The Components segment designs, manufactures, and sells solar modules that convert sunlight into electricity. This segment manufactures cadmium telluride and crystalline silicon modules for project developers and system integrators, as well as owners and operators of photovoltaic (PV) solar power systems. The Systems segment provides turn-key PV solar power systems or solar solutions, such as project development; engineering, procurement, and construction; operating and maintenance; and project finance services to investor owned utilities, independent power developers and producers, commercial and industrial companies, and PV solar power system owners. First Solar, Inc. has strategic alliance with Caterpillar Inc. to develop an integrated photovoltaic solar solution for microgrid applications. The company was formerly known as First Solar Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to First Solar, Inc. in 2006. First Solar, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Yahoo Finance
