Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 10,022 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,337 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 10,022 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of First Solar worth $25,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% during the fourth 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 12.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 262,482 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $323,410,000 after purchasing an additional 223,933 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,948 shares of company stock valued at $2,704,927 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the topic of several research reports. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.94.

First Solar Trading Up 2.5%

First Solar stock opened at $163.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $143.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.79. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FSLR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.