First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Lowered to $273.00 at Barclays

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price cut by research analysts at Barclays from $275.00 to $273.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 67.34% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $315.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.67.

First Solar Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $5.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $163.14. 847,491 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,163,240. The firm has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $189.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $135.88 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. Analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 55.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,771 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $286,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,646,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in First Solar by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,374,000 after buying an additional 8,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in First Solar by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,882 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after buying an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Solar

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.