First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $235.00 to $237.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.
Several other research analysts also recently commented on FSLR. Wolfe Research downgraded First Solar from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of First Solar from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $206.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $255.00 to $226.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Citigroup raised First Solar from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $232.62.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on First Solar
First Solar Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $170.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 3.36. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 116.78 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.38 and a 200-day moving average of $196.80.
First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.90. First Solar had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 3.13%. The firm had revenue of $810.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $720.43 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $562,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $607,939.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $562,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $607,939.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $84,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 7,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,392,118. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,452 shares of company stock valued at $6,833,334 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of First Solar
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,656,540 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,970,297,000 after purchasing an additional 308,610 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First Solar by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,171,019 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $767,981,000 after buying an additional 68,131 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 77.9% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,786,315 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,041,024,000 after buying an additional 2,096,612 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in First Solar by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,419,291 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $840,063,000 after acquiring an additional 152,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,236,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $485,528,000 after acquiring an additional 56,383 shares during the period. 82.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
First Solar Company Profile
First Solar, Inc provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United State, Japan, France, Canada, India, Australia, and internationally. The company designs, manufactures, and sells cadmium telluride solar modules that converts sunlight into electricity. It serves developers and operators of systems, utilities, independent power producers, commercial and industrial companies, and other system owners.
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