First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given New $326.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target boosted by Oppenheimer from $325.00 to $326.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim decreased their price target on First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a buy rating and set a $320.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Solar from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $275.58.

First Solar Stock Down 2.5 %

FSLR stock opened at $213.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $245.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.23.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,045 shares in the company, valued at $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,051.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in First Solar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $94,419,000 after acquiring an additional 20,946 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,430 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $20,434,000 after purchasing an additional 20,465 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $175,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 304,592.2% during the 4th quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,771,000 after purchasing an additional 155,342 shares during the last quarter. 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.