First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

FSLR has been the topic of several other research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Solar from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.04.

First Solar Stock Down 0.0 %

First Solar stock opened at $186.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $192.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.05. First Solar has a 1-year low of $135.88 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 81,947.0% during the second 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 buying an additional 7,660,409 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $647,440,000 after purchasing an additional 24,143 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in First Solar by 0.9% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $434,977,000 after purchasing an additional 15,890 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.