First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $13.00-13.50 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $13.49. The company issued revenue guidance of $4.1-4.25 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.44 billion. First Solar also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 13.000-13.500 EPS.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded down $2.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $197.50. The stock had a trading volume of 7,075,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,423,380. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.23. First Solar has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $223.18 and a 200-day moving average of $224.11. The company has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Solar will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Solar from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% 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.