Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 1,196.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,972 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 98,724 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned approximately 0.10% of First Solar worth $26,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 404.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,404 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 5,935 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in First Solar by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,786 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co acquired a new position in First Solar during the third quarter worth $449,000. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. boosted its position in First Solar by 14.8% during the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 15,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised First Solar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Solar from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.50.

First Solar Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $4.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $190.45. 4,085,893 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,535,762. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.88 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $216.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. First Solar's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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.