Weekly Research Analysts’ Ratings Updates for First Solar (FSLR)

First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

2/26/2019 – First Solar had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Bank of America Corp. They now have a $60.00 price target on the stock. 2/22/2019 – First Solar was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. According to Zacks, “First Solar ended 2018 on a dismal note. The company’s fourth quarter earnings as well as revenues missed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimates. However, on a year over year basis results remained impressive. The company faces intense competition from manufacturers of crystalline-silicon solar modules, and other types of solar modules and PV systems with respect to reliability and selling price per watt. Moreover, First Solar’s shares underperformed the industry in the past one year. Although the Series 6 module is expected to boost First Solar’s growth in coming years, until the full transition is taking place, the company is expected to incur substantial production start-up cost associated with this new technology. Currently the company is undergoing a strategic transition that involves replacement of its legacy manufacturing fleet, over the next several years, with the new Series 6 module.” 2/22/2019 – First Solar had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. to $70.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock. 2/15/2019 – First Solar had its price target lowered by analysts at Roth Capital to $60.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 2/9/2019 – First Solar was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. 1/25/2019 – First Solar was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. 1/16/2019 – First Solar was upgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc to a “buy” rating. They now have a $57.00 price target on the stock. 1/7/2019 – First Solar is now covered by analysts at Barclays PLC. They set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. 1/5/2019 – First Solar was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating. 1/3/2019 – First Solar was upgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $57.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $48.00.

First Solar stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,161,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,166. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.14 and a current ratio of 4.48. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.51 and a fifty-two week high of $81.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.31.

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First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 21st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.15). First Solar had a net margin of 6.43% and a return on equity of 2.80%. The company had revenue of $691.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $812.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 103.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 6,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.65, for a total value of $344,808.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,427 shares in the company, valued at $344,808.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $77,966,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 523.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,065,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $87,702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734,171 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $54,251,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in First Solar by 3,850.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 1,267,749 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,661 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,576,706 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $321,670,000 after acquiring an additional 587,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

First Solar, Inc provides photovoltaic solar energy solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Components and Systems. The Components segment designs, manufactures, and sells cadmium telluride solar modules that convert sunlight into electricity. This segment offers its products to integrators and operators.

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