Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 22,515 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,228 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 22,515 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.17% of First Solar worth $23,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the first quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock traded up $0.05 on Monday, reaching $175.25. 4,652,555 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,070,127. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $274.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $148.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a PEG 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $278,481.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,998 shares in the company, valued at $894,181.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,798,689.49. This represents a 20.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,376 shares of company stock worth $2,227,172 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic assumed 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $192.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.19.

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.