Davis Investment Partners LLC Invests $490,000 in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Davis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,484 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on First Solar in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $217.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC boosted their price target on First Solar from $211.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Glj Research cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $314.43 to $207.82 in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total value of $2,929,076.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,792 shares in the company, valued at $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $122,046.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,294,918.34. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $248.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.13. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.30 and a 12 month high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.