First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Trading Up 6.2% – Should You Buy?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) shot up 6.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $248.78 and last traded at $249.59. 923,769 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 2,291,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FSLR. Jefferies Financial Group lowered First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $269.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Glj Research increased their target price on First Solar from $214.06 to $314.43 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $286.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on First Solar from $289.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.94.

First Solar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.47.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 27.73% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 79.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul H. Stebbins sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.40, for a total transaction of $1,836,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,011,308.80. The trade was a 31.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 37,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.01, for a total value of $9,914,554.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,087,514.24. The trade was a 70.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,912 shares of company stock valued at $12,971,349. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 69,810 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $11,556,000 after purchasing an additional 5,852 shares during the last quarter. Joule Financial LLC bought a new position in First Solar during the third quarter valued at $950,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in First Solar during the second quarter valued at $1,323,000. State Street Corp increased its position in First Solar by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $881,680,000 after buying an additional 111,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at $2,147,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.