DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Grows Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,748,603 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 137,901 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned approximately 1.63% of First Solar worth $308,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,259,697,000 after purchasing an additional 120,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $469,154,000 after acquiring an additional 63,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First Solar by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $323,410,000 after buying an additional 223,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $129.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.82. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price target on shares of First Solar and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.87.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar 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.

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