Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 14,597 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 244,140 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 14,597 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of First Solar worth $60,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Western Financial Corp CA acquired a new position in First Solar in the third quarter worth about $1,209,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in First Solar by 20.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,055 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $20,434,000 after acquiring an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 224.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares in the last quarter. Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,635,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,257,053 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,991,000 after purchasing an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $254.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $252.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.50.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $195.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $216.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.16. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.88 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.