Blankinship & Foster LLC Takes Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,750 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $935,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 11.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in First Solar by 47.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 108,099 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $24,372,000 after acquiring an additional 34,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 65.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 408 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock traded down $4.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $196.32. 1,450,301 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,512,757. The company has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.88 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The stock's 50 day moving average is $200.95 and its 200 day moving average is $224.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. First Solar's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $280.71.

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.