Venture Visionary Partners LLC Acquires 388 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,086 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $9,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Financial Corp CA purchased a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,209,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at $529,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in First Solar by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 3,960 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in First Solar by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,040 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in First Solar by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 769 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $4.30 during trading on Monday, hitting $196.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,507,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,377,514. 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 fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.22.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the business’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 value of $382,339.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $108,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the business’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 value of $382,339.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $108,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,896. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company 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.