Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Increases First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $280.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target points to a potential upside of 24.19% from the stock’s current price.

FSLR has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.52.

First Solar Stock Down 9.8 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $225.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $232.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.59 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.72, for a total transaction of $407,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,756,892.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.72, for a total transaction of $407,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,756,892.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,890 shares of company stock valued at $13,709,131 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 351,540 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after purchasing an additional 211,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,123,000. 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.