Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Makes New $392,000 Investment in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 3,100 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $2,644,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in shares of First Solar by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 21,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,701,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of First Solar by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,376 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of First Solar by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 711,688 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $125,428,000 after acquiring an additional 63,820 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of First Solar by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 195,383 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. The trade was a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $278,481.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,181.84. This trade represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,376 shares of company stock valued at $2,227,172 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.19.

First Solar Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $152.70 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $262.72. The company has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.53.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar 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.