Fiduciary Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,784 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,784 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 249,831 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $44,030,000 after purchasing an additional 5,691 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in First Solar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,266 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in First Solar by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in First Solar by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,507 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,557,000 after buying an additional 7,103 shares during the period. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,644,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FSLR shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $192.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $80,116.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $48,551.25. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 22,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,979,013.75. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,948 shares of company stock worth $2,704,927 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of FSLR traded up $7.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.20. The stock had a trading volume of 4,464,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,062,662. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $274.08. The firm has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.53. 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 $147.77 and its 200 day moving average is $158.70.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The company 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.