First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $273.00 to $236.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. First Solar traded as low as $143.95 and last traded at $144.23, with a volume of 2661475 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.84.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after acquiring an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,236,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $469,154,000 after acquiring an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 262,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $323,410,000 after acquiring an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Down 3.5 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.11. The firm has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

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.