First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Now Covered by DZ Bank

DZ Bank began coverage on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $205.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on FSLR. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on First Solar from $268.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $258.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered First Solar from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their target price for the company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $229.68.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $175.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $232.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.21. The firm has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.07) earnings per share. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everett Harris & Co. CA acquired a new stake in First Solar during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in First Solar during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 1,756.8% during the first quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning boosted its holdings in First Solar by 5.0% during the first quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning now owns 7,198 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is 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.