First Solar (FSLR) closed at $104.69 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.24% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500’s 0.15% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.07%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.07%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from FSLR as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect FSLR to post earnings of $1.27 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 37.13%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $713.18 million, down 49.04% from the year-ago period.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for FSLR. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company’s business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.19% lower. FSLR currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, FSLR currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 30.07. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 70.07, so we one might conclude that FSLR is trading at a discount comparatively.
We can also see that FSLR currently has a PEG ratio of 1.73. 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 2.34 as of yesterday’s close.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, putting it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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