Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,627 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,212 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.13% of First Solar worth $35,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 81,947.0% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,669,757 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,729,223,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660,409 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $434,977,000 after acquiring an additional 15,890 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 795,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $179,478,000 after acquiring an additional 64,265 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 716,104 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $178,625,000 after acquiring an additional 34,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 652,354 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $147,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FSLR. DZ Bank upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Solar from $368.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial began coverage on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on First Solar from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.04.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR opened at $192.57 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.88 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $209.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.58. The stock has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 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 firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.