First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Wolfe Research

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was upgraded by analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $221.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 41.48% from the company’s previous close.

FSLR has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Glj Research upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $172.37 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.76.

First Solar Stock Up 11.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $156.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,200,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,668,919,000 after acquiring an additional 378,641 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $469,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in First Solar by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $306,909,000 after purchasing an additional 592,444 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in First Solar by 12.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 262,482 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of First Solar by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. 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.