Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 63,787 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,118 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $15,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar in the second quarter worth $3,310,298,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Solar by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $761,396,000 after acquiring an additional 24,206 shares during the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP bought a new position in First Solar during the second quarter valued at $620,133,555. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after acquiring an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,215,461 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $578,791,000 after acquiring an additional 189,626 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, EVP Samantha L. Sloan sold 127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.95, for a total transaction of $28,314.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,913.10. This trade represents a 5.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 3,425 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.95, for a total transaction of $749,903.75. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 7,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,635,775.45. This represents a 31.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,081 shares of company stock valued at $3,457,086. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $245.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Freedom Capital raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on First Solar from $213.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.27.

First Solar Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $201.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.76. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $182.99 and a 12 month high of $320.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $222.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.22.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $1.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.77 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.