2,720 Shares in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Bought by Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC

Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,720 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its holdings in First Solar by 60.6% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. increased its position in First Solar by 2,663.8% during the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after purchasing an additional 642,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in First Solar by 38.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $459,917,000 after purchasing an additional 564,032 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FSLR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays cut their target price on First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $300.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.78.

Insider Activity

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,750. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $107,383.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,712 shares in the company, valued at $6,622,428.56. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105 over the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $257.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $238.53 and its 200-day moving average is $233.45. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.26 and a 52-week high of $320.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.71.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 30.73%.The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. First Solar’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.