First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $160.24, but opened at $164.93. First Solar shares last traded at $169.55, with a volume of 878,142 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.29.

First Solar Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $187.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.91.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 55.2% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,771 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,076,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in First Solar by 52.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,374,000 after purchasing an additional 8,186 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in First Solar by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,882 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in First Solar by 2.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,537 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $11,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the second quarter worth $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.