National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 185,883 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,683 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of First Solar worth $46,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FSLR. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in First Solar by 411.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FSLR. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Down 10.1 %

FSLR opened at $194.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $220.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.16. 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 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.