First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Lowered to $286.00 at BMO Capital Markets

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $311.00 to $286.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 31.65% from the company’s current price.

FSLR has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price target on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on First Solar from $270.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 target price (up from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.17.

First Solar Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of FSLR traded up $6.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $217.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,254,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,510,101. The company has a fifty day moving average of $247.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.88. First Solar has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 12,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,543,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,515,125. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 12,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,543,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,515,125. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in First Solar by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $94,419,000 after purchasing an additional 20,946 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in First Solar by 20.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $20,434,000 after purchasing an additional 20,465 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in First Solar by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $175,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 304,592.2% during the fourth quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.