Barclays Cuts First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $275.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $290.00 to $275.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

FSLR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, October 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.50.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock opened at $190.45 on Wednesday. First Solar has a 12-month low of $135.88 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced 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 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the first 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 lifted its position in 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 valued at $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in First Solar by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after purchasing an additional 108,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $647,440,000 after purchasing an additional 24,143 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 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.