Jennison Associates LLC Grows Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 48,289 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,894 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $12,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Financial Corp CA acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the third quarter worth about $1,209,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 224.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 3,607 shares during the last quarter. Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the third quarter worth $17,635,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 14,597 shares during the period. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,655,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $186.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.88 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.65 and a 200-day moving average of $225.35.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FSLR. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Truist Financial started coverage on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.04.

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.