Zacks Research Forecasts Stronger Earnings for First Solar

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) - Zacks Research lifted their FY2025 earnings estimates for First Solar in a research report issued on Tuesday, July 1st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the solar cell manufacturer will post earnings of $13.31 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $13.26. The consensus estimate for First Solar's current full-year earnings is $13.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for First Solar's Q4 2025 earnings at $5.28 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.10 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.06 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.68 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $7.56 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $20.41 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $4.45 EPS.

FSLR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp downgraded First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer downgraded First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.69.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $14.91 on Thursday, reaching $185.43. 6,399,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,233,808. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72. The company's 50 day moving average is $155.79 and its 200-day moving average is $154.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 29.72%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First Solar by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,200,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,668,919,000 after buying an additional 378,641 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in First Solar by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,765,303 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $349,617,000 after buying an additional 405,457 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $469,154,000 after buying an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in First Solar by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $306,909,000 after buying an additional 592,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in First Solar by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. The trade was a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.