Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $2.27 Million Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,135 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $472,963,000 after buying an additional 279,719 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $26,359,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in First Solar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,815,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at $27,078,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. DZ Bank raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $343.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.46.

First Solar Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $240.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.89 and a 200 day moving average of $212.12.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757 over the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.