Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,504 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,312 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 7,504 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in First Solar were worth $6,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP increased its position in First Solar by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 6,978 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in First Solar by 77.5% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,629 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Alight Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $4,406,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,007 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 8,202 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock traded up $35.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $191.60. The stock had a trading volume of 20,172,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,944. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock's 50 day moving average is $130.84 and its 200 day moving average is $163.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81% 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 valued at $4,767,158 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Glj Research raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $172.37 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $237.00 to $214.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.76.

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.