First Solar, Inc. downgraded

NEW YORK (AP) - A Citi analyst on Tuesday downgraded solar power technology company First Solar Inc. to "Hold" from "Buy" on concerns over inventory supply and future demand.

Analyst Timothy Arcuri said Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar is the best positioned company in the solar sector in the long run. However, its stock has rallied 60 percent from recent lows. That, combined with inventory and demand concerns, justify its new "Hold" rating, the analyst said.

Arcuri said he expects the sector as a whole to face demand challenges into 2010. Despite the recent rally of solar stocks on a pending government stimulus bill and First Solar's pipeline of sizable utility-scale deals, Arcuri said that incremental demand from the bill will draw from only 20 percent of the excess cell and module supply in 2009 and up to 40 percent of that supply in 2010.

Labels: downgrade, First Solar, First Solar Inc, FSLR, Solar Stocks

posted by Ertai at 11:19 AM