Hennessy Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,500 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 8,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This trade represents a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,998 shares in the company, valued at $894,181.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,376 shares of company stock valued at $2,227,172 over the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $175.20 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $274.08.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Guggenheim dropped their target price on First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.19.

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.