First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Up 6.6% on Analyst Upgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s stock price traded up 6.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $258.00 to $285.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. First Solar traded as high as $231.72 and last traded at $231.11. 3,989,501 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 3,054,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.73.

FSLR has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim cut their price target on First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. DZ Bank lowered First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up previously from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total transaction of $393,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total transaction of $393,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $884,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 51,022.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 38,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,195,000 after buying an additional 38,267 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,634 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 106,200 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,161,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 39,865 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $235.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.60.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. 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.