Brokerages Set First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target at $227.96

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $227.96.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FSLR. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on First Solar in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on First Solar from $268.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded First Solar from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $175.96 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $158.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.69. First Solar has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $232.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 3.55. The company has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.53 EPS for the current 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.