First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Trading 0.9% Higher – What’s Next?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s stock price shot up 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $130.69 and last traded at $130.47. 395,778 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,548,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Down 0.9 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $158.67 and a 200 day moving average of $189.31. The company has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in First Solar by 665.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $7,308,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in First Solar by 36.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $5,350,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in First Solar by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.