Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Buys 413 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,730 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 413 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. 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 valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.8% in the third quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in First Solar by 6.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Field & Main Bank increased its holdings in First Solar by 4.1% during the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 1,385 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FSLR. Barclays reduced their price objective on First Solar from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.75.

First Solar Stock Down 4.9 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $183.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.49. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.88 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.09. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.07 EPS for the current 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.