Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Mizuho from $274.00 to $257.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 29.77% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on FSLR. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial began coverage on First Solar in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.13.

First Solar Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $198.05. The stock had a trading volume of 456,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,092. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $222.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.93. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The firm has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. 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 released 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of First Solar 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, 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 through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,068,991,000 after buying an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% during 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 in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Solar by 8.8% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.4% during the second 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 last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by 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.