Legend Financial Advisors Inc. Takes Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,495 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000. First Solar accounts for about 0.5% of Legend Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,123,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of First Solar by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after buying an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 504.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $68,852,000 after buying an additional 333,496 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after buying an additional 279,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of First Solar by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $369,024,000 after buying an additional 211,755 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock traded down $24.46 on Friday, hitting $225.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,087,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,946,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.22. The company has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share (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%. The business’s revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at $8,419,797.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,890 shares of company stock worth $13,709,131. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on First Solar from $227.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on First Solar from $240.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.52.

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.