Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 6,500 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,120,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar by 38.2% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,439 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 58.4% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 358 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of First Solar by 46.7% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 729 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Hartford Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 4.6% in the third quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 7,279 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FSLR. Mizuho raised their price target on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $269.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.36.

First Solar Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $180.10 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $162.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $232.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total transaction of $2,592,551.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total value of $37,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,170 shares in the company, valued at $766,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Company 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.