Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, solar module maker First Solar
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at First Solar's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
First Solar facts
| Headquarters (founded) | Tempe, Ariz. (1999) |
| Market Cap | $1.9 billion |
| Industry | Specialized semiconductor |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $2.8 billion |
| Management | Chairman/Interim CEO Michael Ahearn CFO Mark Widmar |
| Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) | 17.1% |
| Cash/Debt | $671.8 million / $664.1 million |
| Competitors |
Q-Cells Sharp Suntech Power |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 19% of the 3,932 members who have rated First Solar believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.
A couple of days ago, one of those bears, All-Star Chemdawg, showed skepticism over management's recent restructuring plan:
[R]earranging deck chairs on the titanic ... how pretty that is ... too bad the solar industry is just a government supported money loser long term. [I wonder] what happens when the government can't afford to subsidize bad businesses? I would hate to put my money on the line for that.
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