First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Purchased by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 38.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,041 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $2,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in First Solar by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1,757.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $136,242,000 after acquiring an additional 516,783 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 993.4% in the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $80,553,000 after acquiring an additional 293,400 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth $67,652,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.71.

First Solar Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of FSLR opened at $196.32 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.88 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $200.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.38. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About First Solar

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.