Morgan Staley analysts raised First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) to Equal Weight from Underweight in a note Wednesday, with a price target of $206 per share.
Morgan Stanley “continues to see long-term risk to FSLR’s margin profile,” with competition among domestic solar panel manufacturers increasing.
However, they acknowledge that “the company’s substantial 77.8 GW backlog de-risks its earnings profile through 2026.”
They believe this warrants a premium multiple compared to its peers.
“While the current valuation premium appears somewhat overdone, without a clear and high-conviction catalyst to the downside, we are upgrading the stock to EW,” the analysts concluded.
Despite the upgrade, FSLR shares are down more than 3%, trading around the $180.64 mark. The stock has declined more than 15% in the six months.