First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Lifted to Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $227.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FSLR. Roth Mkm reiterated a buy rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and set a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $231.36.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $175.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.96. The stock has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $232.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in First Solar during the third quarter worth about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.