Everett Harris & Co. CA Acquires Shares of 1,300 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Everett Harris & Co. CA bought a new position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,300 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in First Solar in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth about $32,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,153 shares of company stock worth $12,540,428 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $229.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $236.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.91. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna increased their target price on First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on First Solar from $224.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.12.

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.