First Solar jumps as Piper Sandler upgrades the stock, cites strong volume and pricing
Shares of First Solar jumped 5% during premarket trading Friday following an upgrade to overweight by Piper Sandler. Underlining the firm's bull case is bookings momentum, which ultimately provides volume and pricing visibility through 2024. Additionally, analysts led by Kashy Harrison pointed to improving margins as logistics normalize. He forecasts revenue growing from $2.4 billion in 2022 to $4.3 billion by 2024. First Solar is a domestic panel manufacturer, and Harrison said the company is also seeing upside from a tariff case that the Department of Commerce is currently considering. If implemented, the move would add tariffs on panel imports from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, which currently account for 80% of U.S. imports. "Given rising demand for FSLR's product, the company is currently exploring additional capacity build-out," Harrison wrote in a note to clients. "We'd expect incremental US capacity build-out to be supported by commitments from developers." In addition to upgrading the stock Piper also raised its price forecast from $80 per share to $90. The new target implies 47% upside from where the stock closed Thursday. Shares of First Solar are down 30% for 2022. The Invesco Solar ETF has lost 25% year to date. - CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

First Solar Inc. Source: First Solar