First Solar’s (FSLR) Buy Rating Reiterated at Truist Financial

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $245.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, down from their previous price target of $285.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.42.

First Solar Stock Down 5.5 %

FSLR opened at $128.69 on Wednesday. First Solar has a twelve month low of $120.60 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.88. The stock has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in First Solar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,134 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Lighthouse Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $363,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 2,749 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,442,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in First Solar by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,276 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after acquiring an additional 738 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.