Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Price

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird lowered First Solar’s price target from $290 to $266 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 52.52% potential upside from the stock’s $174.40 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: First Solar has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $258.79, despite several firms recently reducing their targets.
• First Solar beat quarterly EPS estimates ($5.30 versus $4.67) but missed revenue expectations, with quarterly revenue down 22.8% year over year. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company, while insiders sold 6,256 shares in the latest quarter.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $290.00 to $266.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the solar cell manufacturer's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 52.52% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on First Solar from $252.00 to $233.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday. They issued a "strong-buy" rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $279.00 to $259.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on First Solar from $282.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Mizuho set a $324.00 price target on First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.79.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $174.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $188.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.19. First Solar has a 52-week low of $165.86 and a 52-week high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $5.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 37.12% and a return on equity of 18.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.24 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar will post 17.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.00, for a total transaction of $139,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 5,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $877,308. The trade was a 13.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Samantha L. Sloan sold 127 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total value of $28,314.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,018 shares in the company, valued at $449,913.10. The trade was a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 6,256 shares of company stock valued at $1,455,813 in the last quarter. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 484.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,939 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 1,674 shares in the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,170 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the period. Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $373,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in First Solar by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,946 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Solar

First Solar, Inc is a vertically integrated solar technology and manufacturing company that designs, manufactures and sells photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Its modules use advanced thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), rather than the crystalline-silicon technology used by most solar manufacturers. The company serves utility-scale solar developers, commercial and industrial customers, and other large-scale energy users.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, First Solar operates research and development, manufacturing and recycling facilities in the United States and internationally.

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