First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target Increased to $280.00 by Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $215.00 to $280.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price indicates a potential upside of 19.06% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. DZ Bank lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.52.

First Solar Trading Down 5.9 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $14.74 on Friday, reaching $235.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,884,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,949. The firm has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $231.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,890 shares of company stock valued at $13,709,131. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after purchasing an additional 105,236 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 11.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 10.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $369,024,000 after acquiring an additional 211,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $298,123,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.