First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Up 5.1% – What’s Next?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) traded up 5.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $138.19 and last traded at $137.76. 847,010 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 2,660,360 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 6.1 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $317,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after purchasing an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its position in First Solar by 961.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in First Solar by 31.0% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.