Premier Fund Managers Ltd Raises Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 42.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,479 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,717 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of First Solar worth $15,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Financial Corp CA bought a new stake in First Solar in the third quarter worth approximately $1,209,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 224.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at $17,635,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 6.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,140 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $60,898,000 after acquiring an additional 14,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar in the third quarter worth $2,655,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.50.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $0.92 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $186.44. 599,199 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,522,482. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $215.67 and a 200-day moving average of $225.99. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.88 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

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