First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Rating Reiterated by Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their outperform rating on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $269.00 target price on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FSLR. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of First Solar from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank initiated coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. They set a buy rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $229.68.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $175.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $232.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.34 and a 200-day moving average of $156.18.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,151,817 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,093,515,000 after purchasing an additional 111,786 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in First Solar by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,266,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $927,972,000 after buying an additional 179,035 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in First Solar by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after buying an additional 351,540 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $369,024,000 after buying an additional 211,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,236,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $485,528,000 after acquiring an additional 56,383 shares in the last quarter. 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.