Guggenheim Boosts First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $279.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Guggenheim from $269.00 to $279.00 in a report released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.91% from the stock’s current price.

FSLR has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. HSBC lifted their price target on First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.40.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock traded up $2.84 on Thursday, reaching $240.70. The company had a trading volume of 849,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,358,348. The company’s fifty day moving average is $202.87 and its 200 day moving average is $231.14. The company has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56. First Solar has a 1 year low of $135.50 and a 1 year high of $285.99.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that First Solar will post 17.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 9,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.62, for a total transaction of $1,800,971.64. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 9,850 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,257. The trade was a 47.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total value of $2,314,842.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 95,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,189,465.08. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 92,430 shares of company stock valued at $18,670,055 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.