Shares of solar panel technology maker First Solar (FSLR) are reversing course this evening, falling to $170 after briefly going as high as $189 following a clean Q2 beat. What’s spooked people are the company’s remarks on a conference call this evening about growing uncertainty in its German market.

The company has seen increasing price-cuts among competitors selling into Germany’s solar power market. Although First Solar makes panels from a thin-film semiconductor technology, it started to see trouble in the German market from manufacturers hit with a glut of polysilicon-based product and slowing of new panel projects, said CEO Mike Ahern.

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Liquid crystal display panel inventory is still higher than demand for the panels, despite deep discounting in stores, write the research folks at Avian Securities this morning. Based on “ad hoc checks,” the report observes, while heavily discounted items are being sold, overall inventory is still above demand. The report notes that there are rumors of mergers being encouraged by the Taiwanese government between LCD panel makers AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics, but opines that “we find little to be excited about unless such a combination reduced capacity going forward.”

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ThinkEquity’s Jonathan Hoopes this morning made an aggressive call on First Solar (FSLR), asserting that a “high-level inventory analysis” of six of the company’s major customers lead him to conclude that there maybe be substantial numbers of First Solar panels sitting in customer warehouses. And he says that they aren’t likely to move out soon, “given weakening economies, lower natural gas prices, higher interest rates and tougher underwriting requirements.”

Hoopes contends that global solar demand headwinds are unlikely to subside for at least the next few quarters. “Take-or-pay contracts are only as good as the counter-party’s willingness and ability to do either,” he notes. Hoopes points out that Q-Cells, on its Dec. 9 conference call, said it will allow a flexible delivery schedule for customers and will also offer discounted prices to help share the burden.”

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