First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Upgraded to Overweight by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $250.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $187.00.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a buy rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $258.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a buy rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $229.68.

First Solar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $175.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $232.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.18.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. Analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total value of $37,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Estabrook Capital Management purchased a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.