L & S Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

L & S Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,397 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in First Solar were worth $3,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in First Solar in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in First Solar by 411.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FSLR. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.50.

First Solar Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $185.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.88 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The firm has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.70.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.