First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get a rating) Director Michael T. Sweeney sold 6,500 shares in a trade that took place on Tuesday, August 2. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.03, for a total value of $650,195.00. Following completion of the transaction, the administrator now owns 25,869 shares of the company, valued at approximately $2,587,676.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, accessible via this link.
First return of solar stocks
NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $97.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.20. The company has a fifty-day simple moving average of $72.21 and a two-hundred-day simple moving average of $73.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.60 and a 1-year high of $123.13. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4,715.17 and a beta of 1.49.
First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get a rating) last released its quarterly results on Thursday, July 28. The solar cell maker reported EPS of $0.52 for the quarter, missing analyst consensus estimates of $0.61 per ($0.09). First Solar had a return on equity of 3.21% and a net margin of 7.63%. The company posted revenue of $621.00 million in the quarter, versus a consensus estimate of $606.45 million. In the same period a year earlier, the company had earned earnings per share of $0.77. First Solar revenue was down 1.3% year-over-year.
Analyst upgrades and downgrades
Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised his price target on First Solar from $98.00 to $119.00 in a Friday, July 29 research note. Bank of America upgraded First Solar from an “underperforming” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised its price target for the stock from $63.00 to $104.50 in a research note on Monday. Roth Capital raised its price target on First Solar from $85.00 to $135.00 in a Friday, July 29 research note. Piper Sandler raised her price target on First Solar from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “holding” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target on First Solar from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “holding” rating in a Friday, July 29 research note. Three analysts gave the stock a sell rating, twelve gave the company a hold rating and six gave the company a buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.45.
Hedge funds weigh on First Solar
A number of large investors have recently changed their positions in FSLR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter for a value of $197,428,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings of First Solar shares by 197.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,336,038 shares of the solar cell maker worth $111,880,000 after acquiring an additional 887,443 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings of First Solar shares by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,598,161 shares of the solar cell maker worth $1,185,217,000 after acquiring an additional 657,674 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in First Solar in Q4 for a value of approximately $46,535,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in First Solar shares by 45.5% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,157,245 shares of the solar cell maker worth $96,907,000 after buying an additional 361,999 shares in the last quarter. 75.42% of the shares are held by institutional investors.
About First Solar
First Solar, Inc provides photovoltaic (PV) solar power solutions in the United States, Japan, France, Canada, India, Australia and internationally. The company designs, manufactures and sells cadmium telluride solar modules that convert sunlight into electricity. It serves system developers and operators, utilities, independent power producers, commercial and industrial companies, and other system owners.
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