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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

FSLR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed 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. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.50.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $190.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. First Solar has a 52-week low of $135.88 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The firm has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $216.28 and its 200-day moving average is $225.23.

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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in First Solar by 11.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,995 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in First Solar by 39.1% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 11,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,906,000 after buying an additional 3,277 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 30,867 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $7,699,000 after buying an additional 2,301 shares during the period. Finally, Main Management ETF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $968,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.