Wells Fargo Sees First Solar Benefiting From Court Ruling On Anti-Dumping Duties, Canadian Solar At Risk

The brokerage noted that as developers reconsider panel choices due to retroactive tariffs, they may pivot to non-impacted imports or First Solar modules.

Wells Fargo expects First Solar to be the biggest beneficiary of a court ruling that revoked a Biden-era moratorium on the collection of anti-dumping duties on solar panels imported from Southeast Asia.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can immediately begin collecting tens of billions of dollars in duties on cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam during the moratorium, according to a report by pv magazine USA.

According to TheFly, Wells Fargo further noted that as developers reconsider panel choices due to retroactive tariffs, they may pivot to non-impacted imports or First Solar modules, adding that the company often gains market share during periods of policy uncertainty.

U.S. solar project developers are increasingly buying First Solar’s panels, which use cadmium telluride rather than the more common crystalline silicon used by most manufacturers, including those in China. The stock rose 0.7% in premarket trading.

However, Wells Fargo also identified Canadian Solar as the firm at most risk. The brokerage stated the firm "faces significant uncertainty" as the potential liability could exceed its market cap and cash on hand.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about First Solar was still ‘bearish’ at the time of writing, while traders were ‘bullish’ on Canadian Solar.

First Solar stock has gained 10.7% this year, while Canadian Solar stock has lost over 16%.

The Trump administration has further boosted anti-dumping duties due to allegations of unfair trade practices, with some exceeding 3,500%, on solar cells and modules imported from Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Canadian Solar has manufacturing facilities in the latter two countries.

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