BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 16,441 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 33.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,154 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 16,441 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in First Solar were worth $6,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stance Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 10,575.0% in the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 5,124 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,076 shares in the last quarter. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $711,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 79.9% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 41,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $10,899,000 after purchasing an additional 18,537 shares during the period. Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,243 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on FSLR. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $205.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on 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 raised their price objective on First Solar from $212.00 to $219.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on First Solar from $303.00 to $256.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 582 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 4,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $122,046.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,918 shares in the company, valued at $4,294,918.34. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105 over the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $263.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $28.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.26 and a 12 month high of $320.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $239.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.24.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.