First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Raised to $248.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $245.00 to $248.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and issued a $258.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $224.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Roth Mkm restated a buy rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of First Solar from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $227.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $238.16.

First Solar Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of FSLR traded up $11.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $191.55. 3,008,268 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,074,836. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.28. First Solar has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $232.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.37.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,151,817 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,093,515,000 after purchasing an additional 111,786 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after buying an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after acquiring an additional 211,755 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $298,123,000. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 948.8% during the third quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $191,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,500 shares during the period. 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.