First Solar shares off 62% in past 6 months

10/5/2011

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Shares of First Solar Inc., a solar panel company born in Toledo, have plunged 62 percent in the past six months as subsidies for the alternative energy were cut and the industry suffered from the global economic downturn.

Stock in the Arizona company, which has its sole U.S. factory in Perrysburg Township, has dropped from $153 a share six months ago to $57.78 yesterday. Shares traded under $30 five years ago but rose to more than $300 in early 2008, and then, after a split, were in the $120 to $150 range for more than two years.

Shares sank below $100 in August and have slipped consistently since then.