First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Trading Up 6.6% on Analyst Upgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares rose 6.6% during trading on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $258.00 to $285.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. First Solar traded as high as $231.72 and last traded at $231.11. Approximately 3,989,501 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average daily volume of 3,054,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $216.73.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. DZ Bank lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $298,123,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew 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 valued at $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in First Solar by 504.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $68,852,000 after purchasing an additional 333,496 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew 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 valued at $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in First Solar by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Up 6.6 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $235.30 and its 200-day moving average is $186.60. 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 firm has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. First Solar’s revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.