First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, twenty-five have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $229.19.

A number of research firms have recently commented on FSLR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $237.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $143.67 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.44 and a 200-day moving average of $158.09. The company has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.53. First Solar has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $268.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.93.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 29.72%. First Solar’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 8,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This represents a 54.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,730,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in First Solar by 16,857.8% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 759,033 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $95,965,000 after purchasing an additional 754,557 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $127,379,000 after purchasing an additional 718,631 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in First Solar by 32.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $306,909,000 after purchasing an additional 592,444 shares during the period. 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.