JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $262.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $262.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on FSLR. UBS Group boosted their price objective on First Solar from $252.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $239.16.

First Solar Stock Up 10.8 %

FSLR opened at $276.74 on Thursday. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $278.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $182.34 and its 200 day moving average is $164.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The business’s revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,455 shares of company stock worth $9,617,472. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $94,419,000 after purchasing an additional 20,946 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 504.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $68,852,000 after acquiring an additional 333,496 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 63.6% in the third quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $14,543,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after purchasing an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 304,592.2% in the fourth quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Solar

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.