First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $276.38.

Several brokerages have issued reports on FSLR. StockNews.com upgraded First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after acquiring an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 53,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $9,460,000 after purchasing an additional 8,167 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in First Solar by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 3,306 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $14,469,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $161.60 on Friday. First Solar has a 12-month low of $141.70 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $182.32 and a 200-day moving average of $203.23. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47.

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.