First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Trading Down 2.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) traded down 2.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $344.00 to $307.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. First Solar traded as low as $217.55 and last traded at $218.03. 848,042 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 2,486,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.71.

FSLR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on First Solar from $271.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 price objective (up from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,490 shares of company stock valued at $13,301,803 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after purchasing an additional 105,236 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in 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 worth $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in First Solar by 16.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in First Solar by 10.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 211,755 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $298,123,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $234.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.29.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.59 EPS for the current 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.