Goldman Sachs analyst Brian Lee reiterated a Buy rating on First Solar and added the stock to the firm's Americas Conviction List, citing his view on two potential company-specific catalysts. First, he continues to believe First Solar will elect to convert its idle flex capacity in Malaysia after shutting down S4 production at 2019. He estimates the Malaysia facility could add as much as 23% upside to his 2021 EPS estimate, all else being equal, Lee tells investors. Second, he sees upside to the company's 1GW annual project volume target, as Lee said strong demand for both utility-scale projects and corporate commentary on increasing appetite for renewables bodes well for incremental volumes. He raised his price target on First Solar shares to $75 from $64.

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).