Brokerages Set First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Target Price at $265.72

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-one have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $267.52.

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on First Solar from $240.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $270.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th.

First Solar Trading Down 1.2 %

FSLR stock opened at $222.71 on Thursday. First Solar has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted 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. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The company had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares in the company, valued at $2,193,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,740. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,490 shares of company stock worth $13,301,803. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in First Solar in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.