Head-To-Head Contrast: First Solar (FSLR) vs. Its Competitors

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) is one of 221 publicly-traded companies in the “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare First Solar to related businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.1% of First Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.8% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of First Solar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Solar and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Solar	$5.22 billion	$1.53 billion	10.47
First Solar Competitors	$39.41 billion	$2.53 billion	8.79

First Solar’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than First Solar. First Solar is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares First Solar and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Solar	37.12%	18.33%	13.77%
First Solar Competitors	-1,266.87%	-126.22%	-3.89%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for First Solar and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Solar	2	9	24	3	2.74
First Solar Competitors	3513	12375	25815	1000	2.57

First Solar currently has a consensus target price of $255.17, indicating a potential upside of 40.99%. As a group, “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 43.12%. Given First Solar’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Solar has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Risk & Volatility

First Solar has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Solar’s competitors have a beta of 2.80, suggesting that their average share price is 180% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Solar beats its competitors on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc. is a U.S.-based solar technology company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic modules for utility-scale solar power projects. Its products use thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology, an alternative to the crystalline-silicon cells commonly used in solar panels. Founded in 1999, the company also provides services related to its modules, including recycling designed to recover and reuse materials at the end of a product’s useful life. First Solar serves customers in markets across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.