First Solar (FSLR) Competitors

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) are both large-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, community ranking, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, risk and dividends.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in FSLR or MCHP?

92.1% of First Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of Microchip Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of First Solar shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Microchip Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk and volatility, FSLR or MCHP?

First Solar has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Microchip Technology has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FSLR or MCHP?

First Solar received 211 more outperform votes than Microchip Technology when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 68.85% of users gave Microchip Technology an outperform vote while only 56.47% of users gave First Solar an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Solar	Outperform Votes 1157 56.47%	Underperform Votes 892 43.53%
Microchip Technology	Outperform Votes 946 68.85%	Underperform Votes 428 31.15%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, FSLR or MCHP?

Microchip Technology has higher revenue and earnings than First Solar. First Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Microchip Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Solar	$4.21B	3.38	$830.78M	$12.01	11.05
Microchip Technology	$4.76B	6.03	$1.91B	$0.56	95.18

Do analysts rate FSLR or MCHP?

First Solar presently has a consensus price target of $262.08, suggesting a potential upside of 97.45%. Microchip Technology has a consensus price target of $74.37, suggesting a potential upside of 39.53%. Given First Solar's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Solar is more favorable than Microchip Technology.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Solar	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	23 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.96
Microchip Technology	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74

Is FSLR or MCHP more profitable?

First Solar has a net margin of 32.41% compared to Microchip Technology's net margin of 6.49%. First Solar's return on equity of 17.56% beat Microchip Technology's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Solar	32.41%	17.56%	11.46%
Microchip Technology	6.49%	12.62%	5.08%

Does the media prefer FSLR or MCHP?

In the previous week, Microchip Technology had 1 more articles in the media than First Solar. MarketBeat recorded 44 mentions for Microchip Technology and 43 mentions for First Solar. First Solar's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat Microchip Technology's score of 0.90 indicating that First Solar is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Solar	23 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Microchip Technology	25 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

First Solar beats Microchip Technology on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.