Wolfe Research Upgrades First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) to Outperform

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wolfe Research currently has $221.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

FSLR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on First Solar from $237.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on First Solar from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $202.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.76.

First Solar Stock Up 22.7%

First Solar stock opened at $191.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $132.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.45.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in First Solar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in First Solar by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in First Solar by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in First Solar by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 511 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Evexia Wealth LLC grew its position in First Solar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 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.