National Pension Service Purchases 11,683 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

National Pension Service increased its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,883 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 11,683 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of First Solar worth $46,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 51.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,548 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $4,313,000 after buying an additional 8,673 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in First Solar by 6.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,725 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 4.2% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 4,556 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $769,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $769,896. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $196.70. 4,621,816 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,927. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of First Solar to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.13.

First Solar Company 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.