First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Raised to $222.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective boosted by Susquehanna from $203.00 to $222.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price target on shares of First Solar and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.90.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $183.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.90. First Solar has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $278,481.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,181.84. This trade represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 8,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,246,136.85. This represents a 54.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,976 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,172 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First Solar by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,200,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,668,919,000 after buying an additional 378,641 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in First Solar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,765,303 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $349,617,000 after purchasing an additional 405,457 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $469,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in First Solar by 32.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $306,909,000 after purchasing an additional 592,444 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in First Solar by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,748,603 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $308,174,000 after purchasing an additional 137,901 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.