First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Target Cut by The Goldman Sachs Group

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $310.00 to $272.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 51.00% from the company’s current price.

FSLR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore restated a “positive” rating and issued a $218.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. HC Wainwright began coverage on First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on First Solar from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.97.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $180.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.80. First Solar has a 1-year low of $168.60 and a 1-year high of $320.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $206.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.75.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $1.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 17.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $877,308. The trade was a 13.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 5,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,681 shares of company stock valued at $3,756,286. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cox Capital Mgt LLC lifted its stake in First Solar by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 13,989 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,271 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 5.7% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,017 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 25.1% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 97,856 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $23,090,000 after acquiring an additional 19,607 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 100.5% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,768 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $14,575,000 after purchasing an additional 30,967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc is a solar technology and manufacturing company that designs and produces photovoltaic (PV) solar modules for utility-scale power projects. Unlike conventional crystalline-silicon panels, its modules use thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), which the company says can provide advantages in energy yield, temperature performance and lifecycle sustainability.

The company’s product portfolio includes its Series 6 and Series 7 thin-film solar modules, along with related services such as technical support, module recycling and end-of-life collection.