Field & Main Bank Acquires 55 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 4.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,385 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in First Solar were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in First Solar by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 4,556 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,558 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 1,246.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,263 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $8,147,000 after acquiring an additional 44,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $427,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on First Solar from $280.00 to $252.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.13.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, 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 value of $1,913,418.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of First Solar 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 1.4 %

FSLR stock opened at $193.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $218.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.18. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share 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.