RBC Capital downgraded First Solar to Underperform and lowered its price target on the stock to $34 from $54. The firm believes First Solar's cost advantage over C-Si module producers is diminishing and that its earnings power is significantly below previous guidance and consensus. RBC Capital rolled out 2016 estimates of $1.37/$3.4B, versus consensus of $3.48/$4.1B and guidance of $3.50-$5.00/$3.8B-$4.5B. The firm sees limited upside to its estimates given First Solar's high exposure to utility scale projects and long-lead time and development cycles, combined with lower ASPs and gross margins to third-party module estimates.

Wells Fargo notes that a group of seven domestic solar product makers, including First Solar (FSLR), filed a petition to levy anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, looking for duties ranging from 70.4% to 271.5%. The firm, which included the "important reminder" that "this is just a petition," says the uncertainty created by the petition is "incrementally positive" for First Solar and negative for Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Array Technologies (ARRY) and Nextracker (NXT).