Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price lowered by Piper Sandler from $250.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FSLR. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.00.

First Solar Trading Up 6.4 %

FSLR stock opened at $156.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar has a 1-year low of $144.28 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.08. The company has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,259,697,000 after acquiring an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in First Solar by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,236,383,000 after purchasing an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $469,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in First Solar by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $323,410,000 after buying an additional 223,933 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.