Royal Bank of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $315.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the solar cell manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on First Solar from $280.00 to $252.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.13.

First Solar Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $204.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $221.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.14. First Solar has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Western Financial Corp CA purchased a new position in First Solar in the third quarter worth $1,209,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $43,749,000 after buying an additional 15,430 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in First Solar by 20.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $20,434,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 224.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 3,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the period. 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.