First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Up 4.4% After Analyst Upgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares were up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $255.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. First Solar traded as high as $172.02 and last traded at $172.14. Approximately 1,177,545 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,090,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.92.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $202.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded First Solar from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.30.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in First Solar by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 3.9% during the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 1.4% during the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.67. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS 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.