Praxis Investment Management Inc. Purchases 2,440 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 131.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,300 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in First Solar were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,259,697,000 after acquiring an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $469,154,000 after acquiring an additional 63,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 262,482 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $323,410,000 after acquiring an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 8,037 shares in the company, valued at $1,246,136.85. This represents a 54.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $144.67. 3,683,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,158,688. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.53. The company's 50-day moving average is $150.25 and its 200 day moving average is $156.62. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $268.12.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (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 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 revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp lowered shares of First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.19.

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.