Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 137,329 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 137,329 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $30,962,000. First Solar comprises approximately 4.3% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned 0.13% of First Solar at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. 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 valued at $2,068,991,000 after acquiring an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in First Solar by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 351,540 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in First Solar by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,020,527 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $175,816,000 after purchasing an additional 16,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Solar by 8.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $179,478,000 after buying an additional 64,265 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.46.

First Solar Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $240.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.70.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,885 shares of company stock worth $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Company 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.