First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Forecasted to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $2.95 Per Share

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) – Investment analysts at Roth Capital decreased their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of First Solar in a research note issued to investors on Monday, October 14th. Roth Capital analyst P. Shen now anticipates that the solar cell manufacturer will earn $2.95 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.17. The consensus estimate for First Solar’s current full-year earnings is $13.53 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for First Solar’s Q4 2024 earnings at $4.40 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $12.79 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.09 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $6.20 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on FSLR. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.64.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $205.62 on Wednesday. First Solar has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.37.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. First Solar’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 20.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $20,434,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth $759,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after buying an additional 105,236 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth $1,258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.