First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 13.000-13.500 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 13.490. The company issued revenue guidance of $4.1 billion-$4.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.4 billion. First Solar also updated its FY24 guidance to $13.00-13.50 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. DZ Bank raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $9.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.89. The company had a trading volume of 2,338,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,425,059. The firm has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.93. First Solar has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.