First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Lifted to Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $260.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on FSLR. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. William Blair started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on First Solar from $344.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.46.

First Solar Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $199.67 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.11.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 1,757.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $136,242,000 after purchasing an additional 516,783 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 122,080.0% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 6,109 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after buying an additional 6,104 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter worth approximately $349,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 33.3% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $437,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.