First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Rating Reiterated by Oppenheimer

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Oppenheimer in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $269.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 54.34% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of First Solar from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $187.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.04.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock opened at $174.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $160.86 and its 200-day moving average is $156.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $232.00.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in First Solar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $94,419,000 after purchasing an additional 20,946 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in First Solar by 504.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $68,852,000 after purchasing an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC raised its position in First Solar by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $14,543,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in First Solar by 304,592.2% in the 4th quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 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.