Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases Shares of 120,100 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 120,100 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $27,078,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.11% of First Solar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,875 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,907,000 after acquiring an additional 15,553 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,173 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,075 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,595 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on First Solar from $344.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on First Solar from $219.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on First Solar from $258.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

First Solar Stock Down 0.6 %

First Solar stock opened at $240.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $221.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.92. The company has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $306.77. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. First Solar’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.