Brokerages Set First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) PT at $272.72

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $273.96.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FSLR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $224.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,736,120.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,736,120.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 purchasing an additional 105,236 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $298,123,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $175,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,756 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Trading Up 4.9 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $226.74 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $247.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.71. First Solar has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $306.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

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