GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Takes $2.13 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,078 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $2,129,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar 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 owns 111,890 shares in the company, valued at $14,965,287.50. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $55,710.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,247.20. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $155.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,512,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,057,179. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $139.57 and a 200 day moving average of $161.11. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp downgraded First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.37.

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.