First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

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HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,306 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 2,244 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $6,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter worth $114,730,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 32.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,427,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $306,909,000 after buying an additional 592,444 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,668,919,000 after buying an additional 378,641 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $78,744,000 after buying an additional 306,581 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $220,045,000 after buying an additional 293,134 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total transaction of $1,481,812.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This represents a 54.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 2,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.44, for a total transaction of $462,900.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,326,357.84. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,691 shares of company stock worth $8,248,477 in the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on FSLR. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $185.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $194.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.44.

First Solar Stock Up 9.7%

FSLR opened at $219.33 on Tuesday. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $262.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.07. The company has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About First Solar

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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