Bleakley Financial Group LLC Invests $213,000 in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,238 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV bought a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Vahanian & Associates Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $405,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in First Solar by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 735,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $126,350,000 after acquiring an additional 132,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on FSLR. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of First Solar from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.96.

First Solar Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $173.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $232.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.53 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.