UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 120,239 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,450,914 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 120,239 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 1.36% of First Solar worth $255,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 665.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $104,910,000 after purchasing an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners raised its position in shares of First Solar by 41,342.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.37.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $156.54. 1,645,555 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,060,824. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.18. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The company has a market cap of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.