BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 9,558 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,595 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,558 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in First Solar were worth $12,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $1,697,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 150,379 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $33,163,000 after buying an additional 62,048 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,026,108,000 after buying an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1,054.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,219 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $13,641,000 after buying an additional 47,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,053,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $145,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,750. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $122,046.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,294,918.34. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 76,480 shares of company stock worth $16,668,515 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FSLR. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $228.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Argus lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Solar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Glj Research cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $314.43 to $207.82 in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.40.

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock opened at $279.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.50 and a 1 year high of $320.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $224.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.15.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

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.