Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Grows Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.56% of First Solar worth $104,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in First Solar by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,236,383,000 after buying an additional 108,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 24,143 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the third 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 buying an additional 15,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 7.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,330,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $331,924,000 after purchasing an additional 90,249 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on First Solar from $315.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.29.

First Solar Stock Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded up $5.77 on Wednesday, hitting $166.01. 3,341,724 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,395,214. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.88 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $187.95 and a 200-day moving average of $206.91.

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. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current 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.