TD Cowen Upgrades First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) to Strong-Buy

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $218.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, August 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.23.

First Solar Stock Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $179.80 on Monday. First Solar has a 52 week low of $168.60 and a 52 week high of $320.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $206.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.80.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released 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%.First Solar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar will post 17.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, EVP Samantha Sloan sold 127 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total value of $28,314.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,913.10. The trade was a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 3,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.95, for a total value of $749,903.75. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 7,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,635,775.45. The trade was a 31.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,681 shares of company stock worth $3,756,286. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in First Solar by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,138,473 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $224,540,000 after acquiring an additional 258,204 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,019,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,535,836 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $362,396,000 after purchasing an additional 100,694 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,121,000. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,148,982 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $300,149,000 after purchasing an additional 31,754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc is a solar technology and manufacturing company that designs and produces photovoltaic (PV) solar modules for utility-scale power projects. Unlike conventional crystalline-silicon panels, its modules use thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), which the company says can provide advantages in energy yield, temperature performance and lifecycle sustainability.

The company’s product portfolio includes its Series 6 and Series 7 thin-film solar modules, along with related services such as technical support, module recycling and end-of-life collection.