First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Receives “Buy” Rating from Roth Mkm

Roth Mkm restated their buy rating on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $230.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday. DZ Bank began coverage on First Solar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a buy rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $227.04.

First Solar Trading Down 2.1 %

FSLR stock opened at $174.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $232.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.86 and a 200-day moving average of $156.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 787 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $125,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,920 shares in the company, valued at $787,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,584,512. 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 ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $94,419,000 after acquiring an additional 20,946 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 504.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $68,852,000 after acquiring an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $14,543,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 304,592.2% during the 4th quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by 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.