First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $236.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FSLR. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded First Solar from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $187.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on First Solar from $268.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on First Solar in a report on Friday, December 15th. They set a buy rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $227.96.

First Solar Stock Down 3.6 %

FSLR opened at $175.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $232.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.69.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in First Solar by 504.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $68,852,000 after purchasing an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $14,543,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First Solar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after acquiring an additional 279,424 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in First Solar by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 50,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 10,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 304,592.2% during the 4th quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,771,000 after acquiring an additional 155,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.