First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Rating Reiterated by Roth Mkm

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by analysts at Roth Mkm in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $230.00 price objective on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock. Roth Mkm’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.40% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FSLR. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.68.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $175.04 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $161.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $232.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 3.55.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Solar will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $338,975.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Estabrook Capital Management bought a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by 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.