Janney Montgomery Scott Upgrades First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) to Buy

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Janney Montgomery Scott currently has $260.00 target price on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on FSLR. Susquehanna decreased their target price on First Solar from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.13.

First Solar Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $194.48 on Tuesday. First Solar has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $382,339.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $108,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Western Financial Corp CA purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,209,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $20,434,000 after purchasing an additional 20,465 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 224.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after purchasing an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Company Profile

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.