What Happened?
Shares of solar panel manufacturer First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) jumped 2.5% in the afternoon session after several investment firms raised their price targets on the solar panel manufacturer's stock, signaling confidence in its future performance. Robert W. Baird increased its target price to $264 from $240, maintaining an "outperform" rating. In a similar move, Susquehanna upped its price objective to $273 from $222, holding a "positive" rating on the shares. These actions suggested that the firms saw potential for the stock's price to rise further.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $229.87, up 1.7% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy First Solar? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
First Solar’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 33 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 11 days ago when the stock gained 3.3% on the news that Jefferies raised its price target on the stock to $260 from $212, citing a positive outlook for the company. The investment firm pointed to a “solid setup” for the solar panel maker, backed by strong bookings in the third quarter. A key factor in the updated view was that First Solar's U.S. production capacity was now fully booked through 2028, a clear sign of very strong demand. The firm also noted that the company had returned to “price discovery mode,” which suggested it had greater control over its pricing. Jefferies kept its "Buy" rating on the stock.
First Solar is up 23.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $229.87 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $234.30 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of First Solar’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,772.
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