Mengis Capital Management Inc. Has $1.54 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,162 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 0.9% during the first 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 period. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in First Solar by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $179,478,000 after purchasing an additional 64,265 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in First Solar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $147,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 516,783 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on First Solar from $315.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.13.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock opened at $182.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. 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 50-day moving average price of $217.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.68. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.50 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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.