First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Given New $230.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target on First Solar to $230 from $275 but kept an overweight rating, implying roughly a 17.9% upside from the current share price.
• First Solar reported Q results with an EPS miss ($4.84 vs. $5.22) but revenue beat ($1.68B), and the stock traded around $195.10, down about 1.2% intraday.
• Insiders (including the CTO and CEO) have recently sold shares—76,562 shares sold in the last 90 days—while institutional ownership remains very high at approximately 92%.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $275.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the solar cell manufacturer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.89% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. DZ Bank raised First Solar to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on First Solar in a research report on Monday, January 12th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on First Solar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on First Solar from $300.00 to $243.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Evercore cut their target price on First Solar from $241.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.49.

First Solar Stock Down 1.2%

First Solar stock traded down $2.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.10. The stock had a trading volume of 154,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,288,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.67. First Solar has a fifty-two week low of $119.09 and a fifty-two week high of $285.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $200.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.61.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.22 by ($0.38). First Solar had a net margin of 29.28% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar will post 17.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 3,640 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.95, for a total value of $716,898.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,582,887.15. The trade was a 31.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 7,738 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total value of $1,516,106.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,983,826.91. This represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 76,562 shares of company stock valued at $15,042,232. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Solar

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 2,663.8% during the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $174,059,000 after purchasing an additional 642,199 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $459,917,000 after purchasing an additional 564,032 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc NASDAQ: FSLR is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.

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