The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $204.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $235.00 to $204.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on First Solar from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $202.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.48.

First Solar Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $186.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $134.18 and its 200 day moving average is $163.52. First Solar has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $55,710.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,695 shares in the company, valued at $624,247.20. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $317,399,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the first quarter worth approximately $114,730,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in First Solar by 16,857.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 759,033 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $95,965,000 after acquiring an additional 754,557 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 17,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 32.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $306,909,000 after purchasing an additional 592,444 shares during the period. 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.