First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $152.14, but opened at $161.63. First Solar shares last traded at $160.11, with a volume of 1,473,752 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $192.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.69.

First Solar Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $154.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 29.72%. The company had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,181.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This trade represents a 20.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 396.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 9,405 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in First Solar by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $6,160,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in First Solar by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 189,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $23,936,000 after buying an additional 23,528 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in First Solar by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,682 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,807 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.