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

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $279.04.

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their target price on First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

First Solar Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $186.05 on Friday. First Solar has a 1 year low of $135.88 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The firm has a market cap of $19.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.56.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 411.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.