DZ Bank Upgrades First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) to Buy

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was upgraded by stock analysts at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $280.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. DZ Bank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 29.64% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. 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 report on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.00.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $215.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $246.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.04. First Solar has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Michael T. Sweeney sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.50, for a total value of $1,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,565,262. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in 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 valued at $94,419,000 after acquiring an additional 20,946 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $43,749,000 after acquiring an additional 15,430 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $20,434,000 after acquiring an additional 20,465 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 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 valued at $175,816,000 after acquiring an additional 16,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $26,771,000 after acquiring an additional 155,342 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently 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.