First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $236.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut First Solar from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $258.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on First Solar from $268.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Friday, December 15th. They issued a buy rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $227.96.

First Solar Trading Down 3.6 %

FSLR stock opened at $175.96 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $158.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.69. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.07) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management acquired a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.