Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 131,634 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,439 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $32,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in 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 worth $1,729,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,660,409 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,236,383,000 after buying an additional 108,984 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $647,440,000 after buying an additional 24,143 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 valued at $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 15,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $184.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.61. 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 52-week low of $135.88 and a 52-week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FSLR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on First Solar from $271.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.04.

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.