Manchester Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Manchester Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 29.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SCP Investment LP increased its position in shares of First Solar by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 15,688 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of First Solar by 224.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 69,539 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $8,790,000 after acquiring an additional 48,121 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. BCGM Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Solar by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,398 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,375 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $186.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $262.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $166.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,181.84. This trade represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,976 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,172 in the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on First Solar from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price target on First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price target on First Solar and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on First Solar from $185.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued 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 $222.67.

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.