First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Up 4.7% After Analyst Upgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s stock price rose 4.7% on Wednesday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $258.00 to $285.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. First Solar traded as high as $230.99 and last traded at $226.92. Approximately 1,677,258 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 2,495,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.73.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FSLR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $270.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 12,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,543,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,515,125. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 12,406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,543,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,515,125. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $884,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 51,022.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 38,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,195,000 after purchasing an additional 38,267 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,634 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 106,200 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,161,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 39,865 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Trading Up 6.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business’s revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.