First Solar (FSLR: $34) fell 8% yesterday, on the heels of its fourth quarter which was better than expected, but not good enough for many investors. The company earned $1.24 per share, above the 98 cents analysts forecast, but took a huge write-down of assets. Revenues fell 50% to $480 million, beating the $395 million consensus.
Credit Suisse was one of the skeptics, cutting their rating on the stock to Underweight and lowering their price target by $1, to $29.
BMR Take: We like to look at the bright side. First of all revenues show the company running at a $2 billion per year run-rate now, but the company raised its 2017 revenue outlook from $2.55 billion to $2.85 billion, and EPS to "up to" $0.50 versus $0.41 estimated. Wells Fargo raised its target to $36, citing its strong balance sheet. Forbes has a $40 price target. Many on the Street think 2017 will be a transitional year, which is exactly what we have been saying for months now. The question you have to ask yourself is: Are you willing to wait this out for the next 12-18 months. And of course there are no guarantees that it will all work out rosy by then. It's tough to take a loss but sometimes it just might be better to do so and then you won't have to look at the stock every day and get upset. We are going to think this through hard and make some decisions in the next few days. We're not sure we have the patience to wait up to two years for the turnaround.