First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Now Covered by DZ Bank

DZ Bank assumed coverage on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $205.00 target price on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FSLR. Mizuho raised their price objective on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Bank of America raised their price target on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on First Solar in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four equities 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 an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $227.04.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $178.01 on Wednesday. First Solar has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $232.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $160.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.92. The firm has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.07) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,467,524.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,467,524.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 14,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,315,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,151,817 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,093,515,000 after buying an additional 111,786 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of First Solar by 4.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,266,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $927,972,000 after buying an additional 179,035 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after buying an additional 351,540 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after buying an additional 211,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 2.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,236,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $485,528,000 after buying an additional 56,383 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.