First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Royal Bank of Canada

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $315.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 45.00% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.17.

First Solar Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $6.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $217.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,254,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,510,101. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $247.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.88. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $922,740. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 12,406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,543,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,515,125. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 1.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 3,232 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 3.8% in the first quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 24.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 311 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Family Legacy Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 1.4% in the first quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 4,950 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 36.0% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 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.