Guggenheim Issues Pessimistic Forecast for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Guggenheim from $368.00 to $335.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective points to a potential upside of 72.25% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $315.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $194.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.93. The company has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 81,947.0% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,729,223,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660,409 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in First Solar by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $179,478,000 after acquiring an additional 64,265 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in First Solar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $147,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,378 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.