February 20, 2009 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Cowen amp; Companyrsquo;s Rob Stone weighed in on First Solar (Nasdaq:FLSR) this morning maintaining an OUTPEFORM rating on the stock, iterating that he expects Q4 results to beat the Street ndash; though he wouldnrsquo;t be surprised to see management trim FY09 guidance. Stone also updated his comments on Suntech (NYSE:STP) yesterday –

Key First Solar Takeaways:

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; First Solar should be able to lsquo;ride out the stormrsquo; as a low cost producer with strong margins and plenty of cash

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Expects Q4 EPS to beat the Street by 5% to 10%

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Stone is about 7% to 13% below Street on FY09 revenue and EPS, though impact of stimulus bill ldquo;is wildcard to the upsiderdquo;

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Expects further push for volume and scale as the utility segment takes off

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Sees 50% upside potential vs. the market in 12 months and reiterates OUTPERFORM rating

Key Suntech Takeaways:

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Suntech is ldquo;positioned as long-term leader with brand, channels, technology and capacityrdquo; but Stone remains cautious about target shipments for FY09 amidst still challenging credit conditions

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Company reported $414 million in Q4 revenue, better than expected but margins fell under more pressure

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Raised FY09 revenue target by $45 million to $1.985 billion, modeling 652MW and lower ASPs (down 21% Y/Y)

middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; At about 1.5x book value, Stone thinks stock is attractive on 12-month basis
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