What Happened?
Shares of solar panel manufacturer First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) jumped 9% in the afternoon session after BMO analyst Ameet Thakkar highlighted positive news from the Senate's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA).
The analyst viewed the bill as a significant win for First Solar (FSLR) because it preserves a key tax credit. Thakkar added "OBBBA – is positive for First Solar (FSLR) as it removes the risk to reduction of 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit and that the company can continue booking $0.17/w of stacked credit vs falling to $0.07/w."
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What The Market Is Telling Us
First Solar’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 33 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 13 days ago when the stock dropped 20.3% after a U.S. Senate panel proposed phasing out solar and wind energy tax credits by 2028, raising concerns about future profitability and project viability for solar companies. The phasing out is expected to begin as early as 2026, diminishing the financial incentives that have been critical drivers of growth in the renewable energy sector.
First Solar is down 11.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $164.93 per share, it is trading 35.5% below its 52-week high of $255.75 from September 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of First Solar’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,332.
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