First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Up 4.6% – Still a Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded up 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $140.95 and last traded at $139.22. 985,310 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 2,701,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FSLR

First Solar Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.76.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $55,710.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,247.20. The trade was a 8.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,739 shares of company stock valued at $4,289,403 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,713 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in First Solar by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in First Solar by 4.8% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 1,450 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Solar

(Get Free Report)

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.

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