Man Group plc Has $7.72 Million Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 49.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,805 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 14,406 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in First Solar were worth $7,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 511 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Evexia Wealth LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Truist Financial restated 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.30.

First Solar Stock Down 4.3%

First Solar stock traded down $7.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $156.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,900,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,094,277. The company has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $137.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS 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 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 business earned $2.20 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the business'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 value of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.