Bank of Montreal Can Sells 5,212 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 3.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 137,627 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,212 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in First Solar were worth $35,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 411.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 214.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $192.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.88 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $252.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $254.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.04.

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.