California State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,232 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 4,878 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.16% of First Solar worth $29,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $55,710.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,247.20. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,851 shares of company stock valued at $2,188,525 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.37.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR traded up $3.33 on Friday, hitting $159.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,254,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,058,970. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $140.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.69. The firm has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

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.