FSLR - First Solar Inc

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FSLR

First Solar Breaks Ground On New Vietnamese PV Plant (FSLR)
Written on Tue, 03/29/2011 - 11:16am
By SmarTrend Staff

First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) began construction today on its photovoltaic module manufacturing plant in the Dong Nam Industrial Park near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The four-line, $300 million plant is scheduled to begin production in the second half of 2012 and will produce 250 MW of thin-film solar modules per year, with the ability to expand further.

The factory will include a recycling plant through which up to 90% of a module's semiconductor materials and glass, by weight, is recovered for use in new solar modules and glass products.
The plant will employ 600 associates. The company said it will also install 3 MW of its modules on the factory's roof.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh attended a ceremony at the site to mark the occasion.

First Solar has a potential upside of 4.3% based on a current price of $154.93 and an average consensus analyst price target of $161.59.

First Solar is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $153.49 and above its 200-day of $138.28.

In the last five trading sessions, the 50-day MA has climbed 0.46% while the 200-day MA has risen 0.49%.

First Solar, Inc. designs and manufactures solar modules. The Company uses a thin film semiconductor technology to manufacture electricity-producing solar modules.

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MARCH 30, 2011.

First Solar Chairman Nearly Halves Stake .

NEW YORK—First Solar Chairman Michael Ahearn may be taking a dimmer view of the solar-power company these days, having cut his stake by nearly half in the past month.

Mr. Ahearn, who has led the board since 2000 and was chief executive for nine years, dumped 800,000 shares valued at $118.9 million in a series of sales from Feb. 28 to March 25. Before this spate of transactions, Mr. Ahearn last sold shares in early 2010, nearly halving his holdings at that time as well.

Mr. Ahearn now holds 14,866 shares directly and another 773,839 indirectly, according to securities filings. According to an April 2010 proxy—the most recent filing isn't yet available—Ahearn had 45,342 restricted stock units and had no outstanding options.

These newest sales come amid renewed global concerns over volatile oil prices and the dangers of nuclear power, a confluence of events that some say make alternative energy a more attractive option. Analysts say First Solar's cheap solar-module offerings, designed for large-scale power projects, as well as its central presence in the growing U.S. market, put it in a prime spot to benefit from any further uptick in interest.

"This really has investors kind of shaking their heads, because he has sold a lot of stock in the past," Jefferies & Co. analyst Jesse Pichel said. "It's not like he can make the argument he needs to diversify."

First Solar declined to comment, and Mr. Ahearn didn't respond to a request for comment.

Global solar-module demand is expected to increase by about 12% this year, according to the company and analysts. First Solar said it is preparing to capitalize on the gains by nearly doubling its capacity in 2012 from 2010 levels.

Such opportunities have led Goldman Sachs to slap a "conviction buy" on First Solar's stock, with the firm saying there is a 15% upside to its $190 price target. While other analysts are a bit more tempered, 40 of 45 have "hold" or "buy" ratings, according to FactSet Research.

First Solar's shares briefly topped $300 before the financial crisis. The stock hit a year high of $175 in mid-February, shortly before the company reported fourth-quarter results, and Mr. Ahearn sold his shares as the stock traded around $155.

"That is just such a sign of a lack of confidence that the stock is going to re-hit those highs any time soon," said Jonathan Moreland of InsiderInsights.com.

First Solar does face some bumps in its road to growth. Germany's government has been considering ending certain solar subsidies, which could damp demand in the world's largest market for the products.

Barclays Capital said exposure to Italy and France, which it estimates comprise 25% to 35% of the company's sales mix, is also worrisome. However, Goldman Sachs said the company's improving geographic diversification should act as a "pipeline buffer" in case of a European slowdown.

Global competitors are becoming more of a threat, too. While Chinese solar companies have faced supply issues with polysilicon—a main element of many solar photovoltaic modules but a product on which First Solar doesn't rely—Mr. Pichel said those bottlenecks could clear later this year and ultimately bring input costs down for the Chinese firms. As those hiccups dissipate, Barclays warned, there may not be much room for First Solar to realize pricing and volume upside against its Chinese counterparts.

Write to Melissa Korn at [e-mail]

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China #1 In Clean Energy Investment, U.S. Slips Behind Germany To #3

Written on Tue, 03/29/2011 - 2:21pmBy SmarTrend Staff
The Pew Environmental Group today released the 2010 edition of "Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race?" The report showed China retaining its #1 spot on the list, having invested $54.4 billion in 2010, up from $39.1 billion in 2009.

Germany jumped the U.S. to come in at #2, investing $41.2 billion, even though American investment increased 51% to $34 billion. The top 3 were far ahead of the rest of the pack, with Italy, at $13.9 billion, and Brazil, at $7.6 billion, rounding out the top 5.

The report also noted that China is the world's leading producer of wind turbines and solar energy units, and that the country overtook the U.S. as the nation with the most installed clean energy capacity in 2009.

Total worldwide installed wind energy capacity grew 20.6% in 2010 to 193 gigawatts, with global solar capacity increasing a whopping 65.3% to 43 gigawatts.