Bank of America Cuts First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $269.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target trimmed by Bank of America from $321.00 to $269.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on FSLR. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded 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. Truist Financial started coverage on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $344.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $204.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $108,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $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 bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 105,236 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First Solar by 8.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $179,478,000 after purchasing an additional 64,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in First Solar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $147,080,000 after buying an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

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.