First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Earns “Outperform” Rating from BMO Capital Markets

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by BMO Capital Markets in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $230.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $260.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 38.91% from the company’s previous close.

FSLR has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.75.

First Solar Trading Up 12.3 %

NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $18.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,694,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,323,082. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $199.38. First Solar has a twelve month low of $144.28 and a twelve month high of $306.77.

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

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in First Solar by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,276 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Amiral Gestion bought a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $529,000. Wormser Freres Gestion boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Wormser Freres Gestion now owns 1,069 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,129,000. Finally, JT Stratford LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $370,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.