Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Reduces Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lowered its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,670 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 4,423 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $3,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in First Solar by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $20,434,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in First Solar by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $175,816,000 after acquiring an additional 16,756 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter worth $759,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $3,539,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Trading Down 3.0 %

FSLR stock opened at $228.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.44. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $306.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $221.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.69.

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. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was 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 owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $922,740. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,506 shares of company stock valued at $2,827,217 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $274.00 price objective (up previously from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.25.

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.