First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Coverage Initiated at Mizuho

Research analysts at Mizuho started coverage on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a report released on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $188.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.02% from the company’s current price.

FSLR has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on First Solar from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $229.00 to $246.00 in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $334.00 to $332.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.92.

First Solar Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $159.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $153.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.39. First Solar has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $232.00.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $801.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 14.99% and a return on equity of 8.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.46) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.16, for a total value of $233,683.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,683.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.16, for a total value of $233,683.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,683.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.22, for a total value of $1,024,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,726.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,121 shares of company stock worth $2,049,043 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in First Solar in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in First Solar by 97.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 421 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter worth $36,000. 82.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United State, Japan, France, Canada, India, Australia, and internationally. The company designs, manufactures, and sells cadmium telluride solar modules that converts sunlight into electricity. It serves developers and operators of systems, utilities, independent power producers, commercial and industrial companies, and other system owners.