Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Buys 244 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 12.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,213 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of First Solar by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 356 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.6% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 3,232 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its position in First Solar by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on First Solar from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $204.94 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.93.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company 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.