Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $243.00 to $300.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. DZ Bank raised shares of First Solar to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Evercore upped their target price on First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.99.

First Solar Stock Up 0.4%

First Solar stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $272.17. 357,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,487,881. The company has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $230.60 and its 200 day moving average is $233.42. First Solar has a 52 week low of $135.50 and a 52 week high of $320.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that First Solar will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total transaction of $1,191,375.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,029,435.19. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,694 shares of company stock valued at $13,659,583. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after acquiring an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its stake in First Solar by 2,663.8% during the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $174,059,000 after acquiring an additional 642,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in First Solar by 38.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $459,917,000 after acquiring an additional 564,032 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.