Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 27,988 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 27,988 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,933,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in First Solar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after buying an additional 108,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $647,440,000 after acquiring an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 7.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,330,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $331,924,000 after purchasing an additional 90,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 773,292 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $136,285,000 after purchasing an additional 57,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FSLR. Guggenheim reduced their price target on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $131.46 on Wednesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.96 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.71. 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 company has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $262,952.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,965,287.50. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar 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.