US thin-film developer First Solar will host its Analyst Day on Wednesday, at which Deutsche Bank expects the company to offer “upbeat” targets for the coming years up to 2016.

Deutsche Bank research analyst Vishal Shah’s team issued a preview of the First Solar analyst day, arguing that 2014, 2015 and 2016 targets for the company would be upbeat, driven by “project push-outs and ongoing cost reduction”.

According to Deustche Bank, First Solar has around 1.3GW of potential yield co projects in backlog, yet the US company is not expected to announce a self-owned yield co investment vehicle, due to First Solar’s limited near-term project completions.

Shah and Deutsche Bank also argue that a higher earnings per share (EPS) count could lead First Solar to post an EPS target of between US$3.50 and US$4.50 for this year, up from the previous EPS target range of US$2.50 to US$4.00.

In addition, First Solar has recently achieved some progress on cost reduction. Deutsche Bank believes this incremental progress improves the margin outlook of delayed projects, making it possible that the company will increase gross margin this year by over 20%.

In 2013 First Solar issued a target EPS price of between US$4.00 and US$6.00 for 2015, equivalent to US$3.50-US$5.30 when adjusted for share issues. Deutsche Bank does not expect “a major surprise” in 2015, stating it is likely that the 1.3GW of First Solar projects that already have power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed for will “underpin” 2.4GW of expected shipments to projects. However Deutsche Bank asserts that the recent deal to purchase Tetrasun could contribute upside to EPS figures.

The Analyst Day comes just as First Solar announced it has completed construction of a 1.3MW PV plant on the southern Japanese islands of Kyushu, believed to be the company’s first Japanese power plant. The plant is split between ground-mount and rooftop arrays, with electricity to be sold to Kyushu Electric Power. The plant will be powered by First Solar’s FS Series 3 Black PV modules, with First Solar holding 100% of project equity.