Truist Financial Initiates Coverage on First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Stock analysts at Truist Financial started coverage on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.30% from the stock’s previous close.

FSLR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on First Solar from $344.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

First Solar Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $255.75 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $225.51 and its 200 day moving average is $215.79. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after purchasing an additional 105,236 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in First Solar by 81,947.0% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,729,223,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660,409 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in First Solar by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $472,963,000 after acquiring an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in First Solar by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in First Solar by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $175,816,000 after acquiring an additional 16,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.