Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $854,000 Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,955 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV acquired a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Vahanian & Associates Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $405,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of First Solar by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 735,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $126,350,000 after acquiring an additional 132,577 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in First Solar by 860.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,622,000 after purchasing an additional 13,636 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered First Solar from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on First Solar in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $258.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 787 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $125,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $175.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.69. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $232.00.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.