First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-one have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $267.12.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $270.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,045 shares in the company, valued at $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $922,740. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,991,000 after purchasing an additional 105,236 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in First Solar by 11.1% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $472,963,000 after acquiring an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $369,024,000 after purchasing an additional 211,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $298,123,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $231.11 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.30 and a 200-day moving average of $186.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.41. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The firm had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.