Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $195.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $216.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.88 and a 12 month 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 the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $274.00 to $257.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.50.

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.