First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Raised to $300.00 at Mizuho

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price upped by Mizuho from $243.00 to $300.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Mizuho’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.23% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.99.

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $272.17. 357,713 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,487,881. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $230.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.42. First Solar has a 52-week low of $135.50 and a 52-week high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total value of $2,314,842.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,189,465.08. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 60,694 shares of company stock worth $13,659,583 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin?film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility?scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.