Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Has $3.39 Million Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,816 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 307 shares during the quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $3,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 17,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after buying an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $113,906,000 after acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 218.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 446,799 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $78,744,000 after purchasing an additional 306,581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.19.

First Solar Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $152.70 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.53. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 8,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This trade represents a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,376 shares of company stock valued at $2,227,172 over the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.