First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Lowered to $205.00 at Piper Sandler

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 65.72% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down previously from $285.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.58.

First Solar Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $123.70 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.59. First Solar has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 17,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of First Solar by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in First Solar by 218.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 446,799 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $78,744,000 after acquiring an additional 306,581 shares in 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.