First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Still a Buy?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s share price shot up 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $130.69 and last traded at $130.47. 395,778 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,548,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 2.2 %

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 capitalization of $14.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.22.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $317,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after buying an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in First Solar by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by 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.