Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Purchases 8,700 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 1,087.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,606 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $9,831,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in First Solar by 3.9% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,293 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $8,408,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at $1,081,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $992,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

First Solar Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $6.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $208.65. 1,318,313 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,399,494. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.03. The company has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm's revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.36.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $421,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,506 shares of company stock worth $2,827,217. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.