First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stake Raised by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 102.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,601 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in First Solar were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 961.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $113,906,000 after acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in First Solar by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,248,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $220,045,000 after acquiring an additional 293,134 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on First Solar from $236.00 to $204.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.48.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $178.46 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.92. The company has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $306.77. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,966 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $262,952.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,965,287.50. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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