First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) PT Lowered to $280.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Roth Mkm from $320.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Roth Mkm’s target price suggests a potential upside of 36.17% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on First Solar from $343.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.64.

First Solar Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $205.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.37. First Solar has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.23.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $382,339.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,991,000 after purchasing an additional 105,236 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in First Solar by 81,947.0% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,729,223,000 after buying an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in First Solar by 11.1% in the first 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 buying an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Solar by 8.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $179,478,000 after buying an additional 64,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of First Solar by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $147,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.