First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stock Position Increased by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 367.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,715 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,995 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky's holdings in First Solar were worth $1,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 665.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,745,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in First Solar by 9.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 63,820 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,807 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,138,000 after buying an additional 4,542 shares during the period. Finally, Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 69.7% during the 4th quarter. Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,363 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,531,000 after buying an additional 5,897 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,181.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,948 shares of company stock worth $2,704,927. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $237.00 to $214.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.94.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock opened at $166.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.64. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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