First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given New $290.00 Price Target at Barclays

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Barclays from $280.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 34.28% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FSLR. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on First Solar from $344.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.58.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR stock traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $215.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 837,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,473. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.21. The company has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth approximately $992,000. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. purchased a new stake in First Solar in the second quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,109,000. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.