First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Rating Reiterated by Oppenheimer

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by research analysts at Oppenheimer in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $269.00 target price on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target suggests a potential upside of 54.34% from the stock’s current price.

FSLR has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $258.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 5th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.04.

First Solar Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $174.29 on Wednesday. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 3.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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 the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. First Solar’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $108,640.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $298,123,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 1,371.4% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,818,288 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $313,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,711 shares in the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP raised its holdings in First Solar by 948.8% in the third quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $191,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,500 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Solar by 197.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,336,038 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $111,880,000 after acquiring an additional 887,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar in the first quarter valued at approximately $121,554,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.