Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 800 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $138,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 160.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 26,796 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 16,515 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 13.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,472 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 71.0% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,464 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.8% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 50,128 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 11.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 25,804 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. DZ Bank assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of First Solar from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock opened at $178.01 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $232.00. The company has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $160.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.92.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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.