First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Lifted to “Overweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $250.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $187.00.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on FSLR. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm restated a buy rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho raised their price objective on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and set a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $229.68.

First Solar Trading Up 0.7 %

FSLR opened at $176.28 on Friday. First Solar has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $232.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $298,123,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP increased its stake in First Solar by 948.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $191,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,500 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 125.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 848,623 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $137,130,000 after acquiring an additional 472,327 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 615.6% in the third quarter. Covalis Capital LLP now owns 408,012 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $65,931,000 after purchasing an additional 350,996 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.