First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Downgraded by KeyCorp to "Underweight"

KeyCorp lowered shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) from a sector weight rating to an underweight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $100.00 target price on the solar cell manufacturer's stock. KeyCorp also issued estimates for First Solar's Q2 2025 earnings at $3.28 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $4.26 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $5.22 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $14.71 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $22.80 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $25.74 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FSLR. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on First Solar in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $304.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price objective on shares of First Solar and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.87.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $3.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $130.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,393,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,857,722. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $131.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in First Solar by 17,404.5% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 961.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $113,906,000 after acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 218.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 446,799 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $78,744,000 after purchasing an additional 306,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% 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.