Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,698 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,908 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,698 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $10,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Financial Corp CA acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,209,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 224.0% in the third quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,607 shares during the last quarter. Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management acquired a new position in First Solar in the third quarter valued at about $17,635,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 6.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,140 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $60,898,000 after buying an additional 14,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,655,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FSLR. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $325.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $252.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.50.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $184.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $214.57 and a 200-day moving average of $225.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.88 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.