First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Trading Up 0.7%

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s stock price was up 0.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $231.27 and last traded at $226.72. Approximately 378,223 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,490,693 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. DZ Bank cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on First Solar from $240.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.92.

First Solar Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The firm had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,740. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. CWM LLC raised its position in First Solar by 17.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,640 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in First Solar by 43.0% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,648 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in First Solar by 7.3% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,596 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in First Solar by 321.2% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 219 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in First Solar in the second quarter valued at about $105,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.