First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price Up 5.3% – Time to Buy?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shares were up 5.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $138.53 and last traded at $136.65. Approximately 2,249,565 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 2,654,912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.42.

First Solar Trading Down 5.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.88.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,353,197.50. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in First Solar by 75.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.