First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $240.5624.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on First Solar from $209.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on First Solar from $198.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on First Solar from $194.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total transaction of $462,900.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,326,357.84. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Nathan B. Theurer sold 686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total value of $124,872.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,715 shares of company stock valued at $5,733,305. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 20,443 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,508,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 13,278 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 560 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $231.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $210.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.58. The firm has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.38. First Solar has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $248.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.25 earnings per share. First Solar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-16.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar 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.