Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,634 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 12,439 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of First Solar worth $32,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 7,660,409 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,236,383,000 after purchasing an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $647,440,000 after purchasing an additional 24,143 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of First Solar by 75.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $523,166,000 after buying an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in First Solar by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $434,977,000 after acquiring an additional 15,890 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FSLR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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. Hsbc Global Res raised First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.04.

First Solar Trading Down 4.6 %

NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $8.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $175.88. 2,518,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,503,231. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.88 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The firm's 50 day moving average is $196.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.29.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 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.