Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Boosts Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,001 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,667 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $6,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 411.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in First Solar during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.50.

First Solar Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $190.45 on Monday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.88 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.91. The company has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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.