First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) PT Raised to $248.00 at Morgan Stanley

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $245.00 to $248.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and issued a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a buy rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a buy rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $238.16.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $191.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.28. The company has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.37. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,539,477.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,539,477.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $298,123,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 948.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $191,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,500 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 125.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 848,623 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $137,130,000 after purchasing an additional 472,327 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 351,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP lifted its position in First Solar by 615.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covalis Capital LLP now owns 408,012 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $65,931,000 after acquiring an additional 350,996 shares in the last quarter. 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.