First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $250.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $187.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 43.44% from the company’s current price.

FSLR has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. DZ Bank assumed 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. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.56.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $174.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $232.00.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total value of $37,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total value of $37,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 5.0% during the first quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning now owns 7,198 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Buffington Mohr McNeal boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 26.9% during the first quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 3,959 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP bought a new position in First Solar during the first quarter valued at approximately $310,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently 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.