First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given New $250.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $219.00 to $250.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on First Solar from $271.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $273.96.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $216.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $246.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.29. First Solar has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 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 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The firm had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction 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 sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $94,419,000 after buying an additional 20,946 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 504.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $68,852,000 after buying an additional 333,496 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $43,749,000 after buying an additional 15,430 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 20,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 16,756 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.