iA Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLRFree Report) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,806 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,254 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $2,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after acquiring an additional 854,919 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. increased its holdings in First Solar by 2,663.8% in the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after acquiring an additional 642,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in First Solar by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $459,917,000 after acquiring an additional 564,032 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on FSLR shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.78.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on First Solar

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total value of $2,314,842.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at $22,189,465.08. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,750. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 32,466 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,105 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

More First Solar News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $224.57 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.85 and a 52-week high of $320.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.73.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLRGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About First Solar

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FSLR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLRFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

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