Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 98,724 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1,196.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,972 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,724 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned 0.10% of First Solar worth $26,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in First Solar by 14.5% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 356 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 0.6% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,698 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in First Solar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,172 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 3,232 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.8% during the third quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on First Solar from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $329.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $254.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.50.

First Solar Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $190.45 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.23. The stock has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.88 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.