First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stake Raised by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 55.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,771 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 411.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $769,896. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on First Solar from $320.00 to $343.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on First Solar from $344.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $234.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.07.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.62 EPS for the current year.

First Solar Profile

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.