Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 5,780 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,780 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in First Solar were worth $5,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,729,223,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1,757.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $136,242,000 after acquiring an additional 516,783 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 993.4% in the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $80,553,000 after acquiring an additional 293,400 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth about $67,652,000. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,752,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

First Solar Trading Up 1.7 %

FSLR stock traded up $3.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $199.67. 1,414,030 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,508,194. The company has a 50-day moving average of $199.54 and a 200-day moving average of $223.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.88 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. Analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $252.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $280.71.

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.