Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC Buys New Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,925 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in First Solar by 396.5% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 9,405 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 189,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $23,936,000 after purchasing an additional 23,528 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,682 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,807 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FSLR. UBS Group restated a "positive" rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $194.00 price objective on First Solar and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.87.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $466,877.71. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,798,689.49. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This trade represents a 54.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,976 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,172 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock traded up $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $175.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,610,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,255,535. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $163.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.89. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 16.32% and a net margin of 29.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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.