First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Upgraded at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Janney Montgomery Scott currently has $260.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

FSLR has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.13.

First Solar Trading Down 1.5 %

First Solar stock opened at $194.48 on Tuesday. First Solar has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $306.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $222.68 and its 200 day moving average is $223.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 411.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new position in First Solar in the second quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other 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.