First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Cut to $240.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $240.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on FSLR. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.83.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $197.50 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.23.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $108,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 1,757.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $136,242,000 after purchasing an additional 516,783 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $472,963,000 after buying an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the second quarter valued at about $53,752,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 24,844.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 217,512 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $542,560,000 after buying an additional 216,640 shares during the period. 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.