Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of First Solar
So what: The plant in Frankfurt, Germany, was supposed to close in October but unexpectedly high demand for solar modules in Europe has compelled the company to delay the closing by about three months. The demand likely comes from delays in feed-in tariff rate cuts as well as a number of other suppliers filing for bankruptcy or insolvency over the past year.
Now what: This is something of a dead cat bounce because First Solar still expects to close the plant, and for demand to fall, but it is a short-term positive. I've said before that there is value in First Solar's shares, the market just doesn't appear to be pricing in any good news, or even the value of the underlying business. I'm not very hopeful the rally will last, but would look for other manufacturers to also see a bump in demand and benefit from the trends First Solar is seeing.
Interested in more info on First Solar? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.
