Replies to post #522802 on *SCALPSWINGSTRADDLE* ($$$)

[momentum74]

In Reply to 'reddymade' on FSLR 20.68 (no position)

Momentum, Any Opinion on FSLR? price looks great.

Is there any particular reason other than competition?

Kind regards.

I know they got hit on the subsidy cuts in europe and the warranties on their panels. Falling nat gas and coal prices don't help either. It is a battleground stock for sure. It is a tough one to call as far as a long term investment. It might be awhile before they can turn it around.
I like to trade bounces on it though when it has big pullbacks. It gets big spikes on good news because of the heavy short interest. So it can be fun to trade it long if you get the news fast and can daytrade it. Best of luck on it all imo.

http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=52040661
Date : 04/17/2012 @ 5:44PM
1 Month : March 2012 to April 2012
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) said Tuesday it will close its German factory, cut production at its factory complex in Malaysia and trim almost a third of its work force, in a sign that falling prices and a global oversupply of solar panels have increasingly taken a toll on the industry giant.
First Solar, of Tempe, Ariz., said that it would cut 2,000 jobs, or about 30% of its work force and shut down its solar-panel factory near Berlin this fall as part of a restructuring estimated to cost between $245 million and $370 million.
"We're essentially re-sizing our production output for what we view as sustainable, high-visibility demand," said First Solar spokesman Ted Meyer.
In addition to permanently closing its German factory by October, First Solar plans to temporarily idle four of its production lines in Malaysia. Earlier this year, the company said it would delay opening a new plant in Arizona and would stop building a factory in Vietnam.
First Solar's manufacturing cuts were welcomed on Wall Street, where investors have worried about the company's exposure to the global solar-panel glut.
The company's shares closed 10.3% higher at $22.96 amid a broad rise in the stock market, which pushed up most solar stocks. The company's stock is down about 83% from a year ago.
First Solar, which has been one of the world's top solar-panel suppliers in recent years, has seen its fortunes decline amid fierce competition from well-financed rivals in China that have grown quickly and competed in markets where demand has been largely dependent on government subsidies.
The rise of China's solar-power industry prompted a group of U.S. solar-panel makers, led by SolarWorld AG (SWV.XE), to file a trade complaint against Chinese solar-panel makers with the U.S. government. That case is still pending.
As solar subsidies have declined, solar-panel prices have plunged and a solar-panel glut has persisted, prompting manufacturers such as Germany-based Q-Cells and Solon Inc. to file for bankruptcy.
Governments in Germany and Italy, in particular, recently have cut their support for utility-scale solar installations. First Solar officials said this was a major reason for closing the German factory.
"It is clear the European market has deteriorated to the extent that our operations there are no longer economically sustainable," First Solar Chairman and interim Chief Executive Mike Ahearn said in a statement.
To secure a competitive edge, First Solar has built a solar-farm development business that has about 2,800 megawatts of projects in the pipeline. The company has obtained more than $3 billion in government loan guarantees for some of the solar projects, and has sold several of the projects to large energy companies, including NRG Energy Inc. (NRG), Exelon Corp. (EXC) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s (BRKA, BRKB) MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. unit.
Some worry that First Solar is not well positioned for industry trends. The global solar-power market is moving toward rooftop solar-power systems, rather than large-scale utility power plants, which are First Solar's forte, said Jesse Pichel, an analyst at Jefferies Group Inc.
"This was a market leader, but its technology is being usurped or surpassed by the Chinese," Pichel said. "Their product is not competitive in the most economic and sustainable solar market, which is rooftop."
First Solar sees the utility-scale solar-power market "as the most cost-effective way to integrate solar to the grid," Meyer said. He added that the company may "revisit the rooftop solar market" at some future time, but it wasn't the company's "strategic focus right now."
First Solar and its rivals should have seen the decline of Europe's solar subsidies coming, along with the uncertain demand and lower profits that followed, said Paula Mints, a solar-market analyst at Navigant Consulting.
"During the few years of very high [European solar] tariffs, nobody wanted to look at the day that they would end," Mints said. "Now everyone is scrambling for a strategy."
First Solar reported a fourth-quarter loss in February, as a large write-down, costs associated with replacing defective solar panels and lower sales prices weighed on the bottom line. The predicted 2012 revenue of $3.5 billion to $3.8 billion and earnings of $3.75 to $4.25 a share, not including potential impairment or restructuring charges.
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2283; [e-mail]
--Melodie Warner contributed to this article