Ramping Series 6 production should yield sequentially higher margin on shipment of previously-booked product sales over the course of 2019, JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster tells investors in a research note. He believes this is a reason to own First Solar shares over the short-term "as 2020 earnings power comes into focus." At full capacity in 2021, the company could also emerge with a cost-advantage in the solar photovoltaic panel market, says Coster. He sees a positive risk/reward on First Solar shares and reiterates an Overweight rating with a $70 price target.

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).