First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given a $194.00 Price Target by Jefferies Financial Group Analysts

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) has been assigned a $194.00 target price by Jefferies Financial Group in a report released on Tuesday, July 15th, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 6.56% from the company’s current price.

FSLR has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.73.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR traded down $1.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $182.05. 682,455 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,876,305. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 29.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $278,481.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,181.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $1,246,136.85. This trade represents a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,976 shares of company stock worth $2,515,172. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in First Solar by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 3.9% during the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 1.4% during the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,726 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC boosted its position in First Solar by 0.5% during the second quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 13,278 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in First Solar by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 511 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Company Profile

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.