Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 4,760.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,194 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 7,046 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in First Solar were worth $910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 511 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 917 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. The trade was a 20.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at $1,246,136.85. This represents a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,376 shares of company stock valued at $2,227,172. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR traded down $8.08 on Monday, hitting $176.95. 2,689,409 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,235,006. The firm has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $156.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.48. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Glj Research raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $172.37 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer cut shares of First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $192.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.69.

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.