First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Lifted to "Overweight" at Wells Fargo & Company

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $250.00 price target on the solar cell manufacturer's stock, up from their prior price target of $187.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 42.82% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FSLR. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.68.

First Solar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FSLR stock traded up $0.75 on Friday, reaching $175.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,259,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,484. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.34 and a 200-day moving average of $156.18. First Solar has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $232.00.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. First Solar's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Solar will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter worth $215,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 1,756.8% in the first quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning increased its position in shares of First Solar by 5.0% in the first quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning now owns 7,198 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth $25,000. 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.