First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given New $268.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its target price increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $265.00 to $268.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho increased their price objective on First Solar from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and issued a $258.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $238.16.

First Solar Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $11.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $191.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,008,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,074,836. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $166.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $20.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.37.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. First Solar’s revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,123,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP lifted its holdings in First Solar by 948.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $191,750,000 after buying an additional 1,073,500 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 125.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 848,623 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $137,130,000 after acquiring an additional 472,327 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP increased its holdings in First Solar by 615.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covalis Capital LLP now owns 408,012 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $65,931,000 after purchasing an additional 350,996 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Company Profile

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.