Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 99,236 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,088,201 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,236 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $143,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in First Solar by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 601 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in First Solar by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,731 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC increased its stake in First Solar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 15,255 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in First Solar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,067 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on First Solar from $201.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on First Solar from $180.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on First Solar from $255.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

First Solar Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $199.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.52. The firm has a market cap of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of -475.27 and a beta of 1.36. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.60 and a twelve month high of $218.25.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The solar cell manufacturer reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. First Solar had a negative return on equity of 0.75% and a negative net margin of 1.69%. First Solar’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 26,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $5,488,505.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,408,967.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.50, for a total value of $205,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 6,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,425. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 26,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $5,488,505.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,408,967.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,909 shares of company stock valued at $7,870,618 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

About First Solar

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First Solar, Inc is a solar technology company, which engages in the provision of solar modules. It is involved in the design, manufacture, and sale of cadmium tellurid (CdTe) solar modules, which convert sunlight into electricity. The company was founded by Michael J. Ahearn in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, AZ.