UBS Group Raises First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Price Target to $360.00

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $350.00 to $360.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho restated a neutral rating and set a $274.00 target price (up previously from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $275.58.

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock opened at $213.05 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.57. The stock has a market cap of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 411.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by 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.