5,651 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Purchased by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,651 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the second quarter worth about $3,310,298,000. Hill City Capital LP bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter worth $620,133,555. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,535,836 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $362,396,000 after buying an additional 100,694 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Solar by 4.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,471 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $257,441,000 after purchasing an additional 56,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 9.6% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,254,076 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $219,666,000 after purchasing an additional 110,031 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.00, for a total value of $139,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 5,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $877,308. The trade was a 13.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Samantha L. Sloan sold 127 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total value of $28,314.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,913.10. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,727 shares of company stock worth $327,515. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on FSLR. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on First Solar from $236.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on First Solar from $297.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $199.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $326.00 to $307.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.00.

First Solar Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $172.30 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $185.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.73. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.86 and a 1 year high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.63. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 37.12%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.24 earnings per share. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc. is a U.S.-based solar technology company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic modules for utility-scale solar power projects. Its products use thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology, an alternative to the crystalline-silicon cells commonly used in solar panels. Founded in 1999, the company also provides services related to its modules, including recycling designed to recover and reuse materials at the end of a product’s useful life. First Solar serves customers in markets across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.