First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Earns Market Perform Rating from Analysts at William Blair

Equities researchers at William Blair assumed coverage on shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a "market perform" rating on the solar cell manufacturer's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.36.

First Solar Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $5.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $223.10. 1,185,610 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,427,680. First Solar has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $225.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,506 shares of company stock valued at $2,827,217 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 81,947.0% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $298,123,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $472,963,000 after acquiring an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth about $53,752,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.