Cambridge Trust Co. Buys 50 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Cambridge Trust Co. raised its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,232 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in First Solar by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 11.1% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $298,123,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $175,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,756 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $922,740. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 2.5 %

FSLR stock traded down $5.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,782,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,710,071. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.57. The company has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $274.00 price target (up previously from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.58.

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.