First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given New $222.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Piper Sandler from $251.00 to $222.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Piper Sandler‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.53% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on FSLR. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Mizuho set a $328.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $259.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.38.

First Solar Stock Down 5.3%

First Solar stock traded down $10.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $190.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,262,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,490. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.96. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $165.86 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95. The company has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.73.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 37.12%. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar will post 17.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.00, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 5,042 shares in the company, valued at $877,308. This represents a 13.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $922,706.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 5,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,402,513.12. This represents a 39.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 5,427 shares of company stock valued at $1,250,221 in the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,019,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.0% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,535,836 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $362,396,000 after acquiring an additional 100,694 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth about $6,121,000. Courier Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 102.1% in the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 23,602 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $4,134,000 after acquiring an additional 11,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 15.0% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 683,112 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $161,187,000 after purchasing an additional 89,214 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc is a U.S.-based solar technology company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic modules for utility-scale solar power projects. Its products use thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology, an alternative to the crystalline-silicon cells commonly used in solar panels.

Founded in 1999, the company also provides services related to its modules, including recycling designed to recover and reuse materials at the end of a product’s useful life. First Solar serves customers in markets across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

The company is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.