Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Buys 395 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,317 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 395 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in First Solar by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 259,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,749,000 after purchasing an additional 15,430 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in 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 valued at $20,434,000 after purchasing an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the 1st quarter valued at about $759,000. Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,539,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 105,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,896. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,885 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,757. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.24.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $225.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $227.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.79. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted 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. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.62 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

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.