NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 18, 2017 / Heading into 2017, solar-powered companies weren't doing so well but this year continues to be a strong year for the industry. Shares of First Solar soared to a high the stock hasn't seen in over a year after an upgrade from Deutsch Bank. Shares of SunPower were not as lucky as shares fell over 2% after a downgrade from Macquarie. Over the weekend, however, Cowen and Company reiterated a "buy" rating on the stock.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

SunPower Corporation
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=SPWR

First Solar, Inc.
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=FSLR

SunPower Corporation's shares closed down 2.10% on Friday with around 3.3 million shares traded. The stock received a downgrade from analysts at Macquarie and it doesn't look like traders were thrilled with it. The analysts lowered their rating on SunPower from "outperform" to "neutral". Earlier in the month the stock also received a "hold" rating from Robert W. Baird. This past Sunday, however, the company did receive a reiterated "buy" rating from Cowen and Company. The firm has a $12 price target on it. Shares closed at $8.39 on Friday.

Access RDI's SunPower Corporation Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=SPWR

First Solar, Inc.'s shares closed up 4.17% on Friday and hit a new high of $51.84 during intra-day trading. Trading volume for the stock was also more than twice as high as usual. It was a great day for the stock after the company received a "buy" rating from Deutsche Bank. The upgrade from "hold" to "buy" had investors cheering as well as the upped price target of $65 from $50. According to the analyst Vishal Shah, the upgrade on the company is due to channel checks indicating robust U.S. demand is driving solar-module prices higher. According to the firm, series 6 orders could show up sometime in late 2017, which would "provide the company visibility to announce additional series 6 capacity expansion beyond 2019 timeframe." The stock hit its highest levels in 14 months after the Deutsche Bank upgrade.

Access RDI's First Solar, Inc. Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=FSLR

Our Actionable Research on SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) and First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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SOURCE: RDInvesting.com