AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 68,891 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 285,084 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 68,891 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.27% of First Solar worth $50,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 8,041 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 33.3% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 24,553 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $6,125,000 after purchasing an additional 6,135 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 10.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 131,634 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $32,835,000 after purchasing an additional 12,439 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP boosted its position in First Solar by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,713 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer cut First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Glj Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $172.37 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.87.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock traded up $3.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $130.54. 3,393,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,857,118. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.85.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar Company Profile

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.