AMF Tjanstepension AB Buys Shares of 71,714 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB has acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc., purchasing 71,714 shares valued at approximately $9.1 million, representing about 0.07% of the company's equity.
• Insiders at First Solar sold a combined total of 15,976 shares in the last quarter, which reflects a significant decrease in their respective positions.
• First Solar's latest financial results reported earnings per share of $3.18, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.50, with total revenue reaching $1.10 billion for the quarter.

AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 71,714 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $9,067,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned approximately 0.07% of First Solar as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $127,379,000 after purchasing an additional 718,631 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First Solar by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,200,342 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,668,919,000 after purchasing an additional 378,641 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in First Solar by 218.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 446,799 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $78,744,000 after purchasing an additional 306,581 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in First Solar by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,248,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $220,045,000 after purchasing an additional 293,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 445.5% during the fourth quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 329,718 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $58,110,000 after purchasing an additional 269,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

First Solar Trading Down 0.5%

FSLR traded down $0.95 on Friday, hitting $184.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,629,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,623,156. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.48. The company's fifty day moving average price is $168.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.12. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $262.72.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.25 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This trade represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This trade represents a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,976 shares of company stock worth $2,515,172 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FSLR. KeyCorp downgraded shares of First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Glj Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $172.37 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer cut shares of First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.67.

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.