BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Boosts Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,595 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 9,558 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in First Solar were worth $12,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 9,044 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 50.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 516 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in First Solar by 84.3% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,529 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the second quarter worth about $494,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its stake in First Solar by 6.3% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 18,862 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,122,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Solar from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Freedom Capital raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $243.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Solar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total transaction of $2,314,842.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at $22,189,465.08. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 9,022 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.62, for a total transaction of $1,800,971.64. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 9,850 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,257. The trade was a 47.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 76,480 shares of company stock worth $16,668,515. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

First Solar Trading Down 11.4%

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $279.01 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.50 and a 12-month high of $320.95. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $224.60 and its 200 day moving average is $233.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.71.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The company's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar Profile

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.

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