Q2 EPS Estimates for First Solar Decreased by Zacks Research

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of First Solar in a report issued on Tuesday, July 1st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the solar cell manufacturer will earn $5.80 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $6.04. The consensus estimate for First Solar’s current full-year earnings is $13.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for First Solar’s FY2027 earnings at $27.07 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FSLR. Bank of America decreased their price objective on First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.69.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $185.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.63. First Solar has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $262.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.52.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This trade represents a 54.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,181.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 in the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,200,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,668,919,000 after purchasing an additional 378,641 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,765,303 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $349,617,000 after purchasing an additional 405,457 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $469,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in First Solar by 32.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $306,909,000 after buying an additional 592,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.