Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $236.00 to $204.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

FSLR has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.08.

First Solar Stock Up 3.1 %

FSLR stock opened at $125.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.63.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $55,710.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,247.20. This represents a 8.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Solar by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,713 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 511 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.