Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Purchases 9,405 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 396.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,405 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $2,644,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted 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 lifted 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. National Pension Service lifted 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. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,165 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,673,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR opened at $152.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.61 and a 200 day moving average of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.93. 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 posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. First Solar's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,798,689.49. This trade represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $278,481.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $894,181.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 over the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $192.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two 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 given 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 a consensus price target of $229.19.

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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