Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,047 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in First Solar were worth $6,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,729,223,000 after buying an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 worth $179,478,000 after buying an additional 64,265 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $147,080,000 after buying an additional 2,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1,757.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $136,242,000 after acquiring an additional 516,783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FSLR. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on First Solar from $315.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.50.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock traded down $8.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $187.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,211,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,747. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $216.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.02. 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 company has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.88 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.