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

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 396.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 9,405 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,644,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake 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 worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 63,820 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 195,383 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $34,434,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,165 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,673,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider owned 11,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock traded down $2.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.96. 6,571,223 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,211,591. The firm has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.52. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.78. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The company had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on FSLR shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer cut shares of First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on First Solar from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.69.

First Solar 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.