Family Firm Inc. Buys Shares of 576 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 576 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $130,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $43,749,000 after buying an additional 15,430 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in First Solar by 20.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $20,434,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in First Solar by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $175,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,756 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the first quarter valued at approximately $759,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $3,539,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at $8,419,797.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,203 shares of company stock valued at $9,598,253. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.36.

First Solar Trading Up 5.9 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded up $12.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $231.07. 1,274,326 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,450,218. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $227.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.15. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.53 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.