V Square Quantitative Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,513 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after buying an additional 105,236 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,729,223,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 11.1% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 279,719 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $179,478,000 after purchasing an additional 64,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $147,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.75.

First Solar Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $200.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $226.97 and its 200 day moving average is $222.44. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.