Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,730 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in First Solar by 14.5% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 356 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 0.6% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in First Solar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its holdings in First Solar by 1.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 3,232 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 2.8% during the third quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $315.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.50.

First Solar Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $190.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.88 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.91.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.