Courier Capital LLC Has $2.50 Million Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Courier Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,828 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 685 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $2,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,151,817 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,093,515,000 after purchasing an additional 111,786 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in First Solar by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after acquiring an additional 211,755 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,123,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in First Solar by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $175,816,000 after acquiring an additional 16,756 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on FSLR. Evercore ISI upgraded First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on First Solar from $224.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Guggenheim cut their price target on First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.72.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total value of $602,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 3,165 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.48, for a total transaction of $602,869.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,051.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total value of $4,409,049.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,890 shares of company stock valued at $13,709,131. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded up $1.99 on Thursday, reaching $249.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,919,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,583. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $231.56 and its 200 day moving average is $184.36. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.19 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.