First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Stock: Secure Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings

Secure Asset Management LLC grew its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,653 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $4,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,310,298,000. Hill City Capital LP bought a new position in First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $620,133,555. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in First Solar in the second quarter valued at about $212,626,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in First Solar in the second quarter valued at about $171,043,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in First Solar in the second quarter valued at about $164,962,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $171.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.03. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.60 and a fifty-two week high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. First Solar’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Glj Research reduced their target price on First Solar from $315.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.73.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 7,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.51, for a total value of $1,550,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,779.42. This trade represents a 47.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason Dymbort sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.38, for a total value of $922,706.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 5,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,513.12. The trade was a 39.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 16,681 shares of company stock valued at $3,756,286 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc is a vertically integrated solar technology and manufacturing company that designs, manufactures and sells photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Its modules use advanced thin-film semiconductor technology based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), rather than the crystalline-silicon technology used by most solar manufacturers. The company serves utility-scale solar developers, commercial and industrial customers, and other large-scale energy users.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, First Solar operates research and development, manufacturing and recycling facilities in the United States and internationally.