First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Lifted to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $250.00 target price on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $187.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on FSLR. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and set a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday. They set a buy rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a buy rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a buy rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $229.68.

First Solar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $175.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 3.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.18. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in First Solar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $94,419,000 after buying an additional 20,946 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 504.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $68,852,000 after purchasing an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $14,543,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 304,592.2% during the 4th quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.