First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Up 4.7% After Analyst Upgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares traded up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $258.00 to $285.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. First Solar traded as high as $230.99 and last traded at $226.92. 1,677,258 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 2,495,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.73.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on First Solar from $270.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,045 shares in the company, valued at $199,051.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $298,123,000. 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 valued at $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 504.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $68,852,000 after purchasing an additional 333,496 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after buying an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $236.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About First Solar

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.