Canton Hathaway LLC Takes Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 131.2% in the 1st quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,300 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 1st quarter valued at about $322,000. Lumbard & Kellner LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 71.0% during the 1st quarter. Lumbard & Kellner LLC now owns 46,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $5,865,000 after acquiring an additional 19,266 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,529 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 116.3% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 465 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This trade represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 8,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. The trade was a 54.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,376 shares of company stock valued at $2,227,172. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of FSLR opened at $145.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $268.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.53.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS 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.

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