First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on FSLR. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded down $3.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $194.48. 2,856,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,425,465. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 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 has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $306.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $222.68 and its 200 day moving average is $223.93.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Western Financial Corp CA acquired a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,209,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,749,000 after buying an additional 15,430 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 20.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $20,434,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 224.0% in the third quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.