First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial upgraded First Solar to “strong buy” from “hold,” citing potential long-term support for solar-panel pricing and raising its price target to $270 from $229.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a consensus “moderate buy” rating and an average target price of $266.33, while institutional investors own approximately 92% of the stock.
• First Solar beat quarterly EPS expectations ($3.92 versus $2.90), but revenue fell 3.4% year over year. The stock remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after significant recent weakness.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Truist Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

FSLR has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Solar from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, July 24th. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Mizuho set a $324.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.33.

First Solar Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $179.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.47. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $168.60 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 32.47%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 17.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total transaction of $922,706.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 5,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Samantha L. Sloan sold 127 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total transaction of $28,314.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $449,913.10. This represents a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,681 shares of company stock worth $3,756,286. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in First Solar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 19,131 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,774,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,608 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 17,102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,973,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

More First Solar News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist upgraded First Solar to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $270 from $229, implying roughly 50% upside from recent levels. The firm believes solar-panel pricing should remain supported into the 2030s, improving the outlook for First Solar’s earnings and cash flow. Truist sees 50% upside for First Solar as pricing supported into 2030s
• Positive Sentiment: The upgrade follows a roughly one-third decline in First Solar’s stock this year, making the shares appear more attractively valued to contrarian investors. Coverage highlighted potential catalysts from the U.S. midterm elections and possible changes to solar-policy support. This struggling solar stock has lost one-third of its value this year. Truist sees a comeback
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentaries characterized First Solar as a potential entry point, emphasizing election-related catalysts and the possibility of a recovery after the recent selloff. First Solar: A Good Entry Point With Potential Midterms Catalysts
• Neutral Sentiment: First Solar’s latest reported quarter exceeded EPS expectations, but revenue declined year over year. The company remains profitable, although investors are weighing strong earnings performance against softer sales growth.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and has experienced significant year-to-date weakness, indicating that investor concerns about solar demand, policy, or pricing have not been fully resolved.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc is a solar technology and manufacturing company that designs and produces photovoltaic (PV) solar modules for utility-scale power projects. Unlike conventional crystalline-silicon panels, its modules use thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), which the company says can provide advantages in energy yield, temperature performance and lifecycle sustainability.

The company's product portfolio includes its Series 6 and Series 7 thin-film solar modules, along with related services such as technical support, module recycling and end-of-life collection.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.