Glj Research Reaffirms Hold Rating for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by stock analysts at Glj Research in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $207.82 target price on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, down from their prior target price of $314.43. Glj Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.21% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on First Solar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $291.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $289.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of First Solar to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.65.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR opened at $197.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. First Solar has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $285.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.83. The stock has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.65.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.22 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 29.28% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 7,738 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total transaction of $1,516,106.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 91,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,983,826.91. This represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 1,650 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total transaction of $323,284.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,200 shares in the company, valued at $6,308,946. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 27,515 shares of company stock valued at $5,389,095 over the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 3.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,026,108,000 after purchasing an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $881,680,000 after purchasing an additional 111,927 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $761,396,000 after buying an additional 24,206 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $578,791,000 after buying an additional 189,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

More First Solar News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive despite cuts — Argus kept a “buy” rating and trimmed its target to $250, implying meaningful upside versus current levels. Argus adjusts price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and Barclays cut price targets (to $230 and $228 respectively) but kept overweight/overweight ratings — signaling expectations for longer‑term upside while flagging nearer‑term margin/pricing headwinds. Morgan Stanley cuts price target Barclays lowers price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Published short‑interest numbers in feeds show spurious zero/NaN values — treat reported “large increase” claims as data errors; no reliable short‑sale signal from these feeds.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 earnings missed consensus and management issued weak 2026 sales guidance — this is the proximate cause of the recent sharp decline in the share price and pressure on solar ETFs. ETFs in Focus post earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior insiders (including CEO Mark Widmar, CFO Alexander Bradley, CTO Markus Gloeckler and others) sold sizable blocks of shares on March 3 at ~\$196 each — concentrated insider selling increases negative sentiment and can amplify price pressure. Widmar Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP has opened an investor investigation into First Solar, adding legal/reputational risk that can weigh on sentiment while inquiries proceed. Pomerantz investor alert
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary highlights structural risks (subsidy dependence, margin recovery uncertainty and a cited “$2B problem”) that could deepen downside if pricing or policy support weakens. First Solar’s $2 billion problem

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.