Steele Capital Management Inc. Invests $575,000 in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,340 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 548,058 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $94,419,000 after acquiring an additional 20,946 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 504.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 399,650 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $68,852,000 after acquiring an additional 333,496 shares during the last quarter. Sora Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 63.6% in the third quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $14,543,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,945,549,000 after acquiring an additional 279,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 304,592.2% during the fourth quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155,393 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,771,000 after buying an additional 155,342 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FSLR. Bank of America boosted their price objective on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. DZ Bank began coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on First Solar from $224.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $187.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.92.

First Solar Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $180.83. 1,305,453 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,067,255. The company has a 50 day moving average of $163.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $232.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. First Solar’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.