Mizuho Lowers First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $257.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective lowered by Mizuho from $274.00 to $257.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FSLR. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Solar in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock traded up $6.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $201.12. The company had a trading volume of 999,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,418,745. First Solar has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.93. The stock has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,729,223,000 after buying an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 1,757.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $136,242,000 after acquiring an additional 516,783 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew 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 worth $472,963,000 after acquiring an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at $53,752,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 24,844.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 217,512 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $542,560,000 after purchasing an additional 216,640 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.