First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their outperform rating on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $269.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of First Solar from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a buy rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, DZ Bank began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a buy rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $227.04.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock opened at $178.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.92. First Solar has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $232.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.