First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $227.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target suggests a potential upside of 27.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.36.

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $177.48 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.83. The company has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $232.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $338,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings 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 valued at $94,419,000 after acquiring an additional 20,946 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $68,852,000 after acquiring an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $14,543,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its position 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 valued at $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 shares in the last quarter. 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.