Stock Alert: First Solar Up 18% On Quarterly Results

(RTTNews) - Shares of First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) are gaining over 18% on Friday morning, after the company's second-quarter earnings and revenues trumped Wall Street expectations.

FSLR is currently trading at $76.11, up $11.65 or 18.07%, on the Nasdaq.

First Solar reported second-quarter profit of $36.9 million or $0.35 per share, compared to last year's loss of $18.5 million or $0.18 per share. Net sales rose to $642.4 million from $585.0 million last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.23 per share on revenues of $493.34 million for the quarter.

Separately, First Solar said it has agreed to sell its North American Operations and Maintenance business to NovaSource Power Services, a portfolio company of Toronto-based private equity firm Clairvest Group Inc. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.