Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 206 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,406 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 206 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in First Solar were worth $5,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,729,223,000 after buying an additional 7,660,409 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in First Solar by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $647,440,000 after acquiring an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $434,977,000 after purchasing an additional 15,890 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock opened at $184.27 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.88 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FSLR. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of First Solar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.04.

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.