First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Guggenheim lowered their price target on the stock from $335.00 to $304.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. First Solar traded as low as $143.95 and last traded at $144.23, with a volume of 2661475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.84.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FSLR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.63.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $43,442,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in First Solar by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,276 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Amiral Gestion acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $529,000. Wormser Freres Gestion increased its holdings in First Solar by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Wormser Freres Gestion now owns 1,069 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $2,129,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Trading Down 2.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $173.30 and a 200-day moving average of $198.68.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.