First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

by · The Markets Daily

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Free Report) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $256.00 to $252.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on FSLR. HC Wainwright started coverage on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on First Solar from $318.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. HSBC raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen upgraded First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.73.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on First Solar

First Solar Price Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $174.82 on Monday. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $168.60 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $194.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.71. The firm has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.80.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that First Solar will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 7,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.51, for a total value of $1,550,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,779.42. The trade was a 47.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $922,706.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 5,624 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,681 shares of company stock valued at $3,756,286. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. increased its position in First Solar by 0.3% during the first quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 19,131 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,774,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in First Solar by 3.5% during the first quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,608 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in First Solar by 0.3% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 17,102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,973,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Cox Capital Mgt LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 13,989 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

First Solar, Inc is a vertically integrated solar technology and manufacturing company that designs, manufactures and sells photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Its modules use advanced thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), rather than the crystalline-silicon technology used by most solar manufacturers. The company serves utility-scale solar developers, commercial and industrial customers, and other large-scale energy users.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, First Solar operates research and development, manufacturing and recycling facilities in the United States and internationally.

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