Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 33,418 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,783 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 33,418 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of First Solar worth $37,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 411.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new position in First Solar during the second quarter worth about $45,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. William Blair started coverage on First Solar in a report on Thursday, August 29th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $315.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.13.

First Solar Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $10.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.14. 2,274,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,511,272. 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's 50-day moving average price is $218.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.65. The firm has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.50 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.