Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 14,597 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 6.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 244,140 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,597 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $60,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 15.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,558 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $427,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 28,374 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,790,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the first quarter worth about $426,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.7% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 113,365 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $19,136,000 after buying an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FSLR. DZ Bank upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.50.

First Solar Trading Up 7.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $195.14 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.88 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $216.64 and a 200-day moving average of $225.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 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.