First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $214.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 23.92% from the stock’s current price.
Several other research firms have also weighed in on FSLR. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $206.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on First Solar from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Bank of America raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $202.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, September 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.62.
First Solar Price Performance
First Solar stock opened at $161.39 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.75. First Solar has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $232.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 110.54 and a beta of 1.40.
First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.90. First Solar had a return on equity of 3.13% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $810.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $720.43 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at First Solar
In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $562,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $607,939.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 3,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $562,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $607,939.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.41, for a total value of $482,565.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,288,566.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,452 shares of company stock valued at $6,833,334 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,656,540 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,970,297,000 after purchasing an additional 308,610 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,171,019 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $767,981,000 after buying an additional 68,131 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,786,315 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,041,024,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,612 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,419,291 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $840,063,000 after purchasing an additional 152,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 2.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,236,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $485,528,000 after buying an additional 56,383 shares in the last quarter. 82.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About First Solar
First Solar, Inc provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United State, Japan, France, Canada, India, Australia, and internationally. The company designs, manufactures, and sells cadmium telluride solar modules that converts sunlight into electricity. It serves developers and operators of systems, utilities, independent power producers, commercial and industrial companies, and other system owners.