First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Trading Up 6.6% After Analyst Upgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s share price was up 6.6% during trading on Thursday 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 $231.72 and last traded at $231.11. Approximately 3,989,501 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 31% from the average daily volume of 3,054,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.73.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,419,797.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $2,068,991,000 after buying an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in First Solar by 11.1% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $472,963,000 after buying an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in First Solar by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after buying an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in First Solar by 10.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $369,024,000 after buying an additional 211,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $298,123,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $236.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44.

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