First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Up 1% – Time to Buy?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s share price traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $135.70 and last traded at $133.80. 531,927 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,678,321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in First Solar by 665.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in First Solar by 36.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $5,350,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.