Roth Capital Has Pessimistic View of First Solar Q3 Earnings

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) – Equities researchers at Roth Capital dropped their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for First Solar in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 14th. Roth Capital analyst P. Shen now forecasts that the solar cell manufacturer will post earnings of $2.95 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.17. The consensus estimate for First Solar’s current full-year earnings is $13.53 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for First Solar’s Q4 2024 earnings at $4.40 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $12.79 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.09 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $6.20 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on First Solar in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on First Solar from $343.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, DZ Bank raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.64.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $203.37 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $227.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,068,991,000 after buying an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $179,478,000 after purchasing an additional 64,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $147,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. 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.