First Solar (FSLR) vs. The Competition Head to Head Contrast

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) is one of 220 public companies in the “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare First Solar to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

First Solar has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Solar’s peers have a beta of 2.81, indicating that their average share price is 181% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.1% of First Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.7% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of First Solar shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for First Solar and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Solar	2	8	24	3	2.76
First Solar Competitors	3516	12397	25852	1004	2.57

First Solar currently has a consensus price target of $255.00, indicating a potential upside of 48.00%. As a group, “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 37.26%. Given First Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Solar is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares First Solar and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Solar	37.12%	18.33%	13.77%
First Solar Competitors	-1,255.36%	-126.08%	-3.83%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Solar and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Solar	$5.22 billion	$1.53 billion	9.97
First Solar Competitors	$7.39 billion	$2.55 billion	20.03

First Solar’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than First Solar. First Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

First Solar beats its peers on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc. is a U.S.-based solar technology company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic modules for utility-scale solar power projects. Its products use thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology, an alternative to the crystalline-silicon cells commonly used in solar panels. Founded in 1999, the company also provides services related to its modules, including recycling designed to recover and reuse materials at the end of a product’s useful life. First Solar serves customers in markets across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.