First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Receives “Buy” Rating from Truist Financial

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

FSLR has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.42.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock opened at $129.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.99 and a 200-day moving average of $182.93. First Solar has a 12-month low of $120.60 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. Insiders sold a total of 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 Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $317,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after buying an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 17,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 961.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $113,906,000 after acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.