Todd Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Key Points

• Todd Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. by 24.5% in Q1, selling 52,158 shares and now holds 160,438 shares.
• First Solar reported earnings of $3.18 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates of $2.68, with a revenue of $1.10 billion, exceeding expectations.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on First Solar, with one rating it a "strong-buy" while others have set price targets ranging from $177.00 to $220.00.

Todd Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,438 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 52,158 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC owned 0.15% of First Solar worth $20,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,933,000. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 1,170.0% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares in the last quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. grew its stake in First Solar by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. now owns 8,370 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in First Solar by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 24,302 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $4,283,000 after acquiring an additional 7,051 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 1,868 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $278,481.44. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,998 shares in the company, valued at $894,181.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,798,689.49. This trade represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,976 shares of company stock worth $2,515,172 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on FSLR. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of First Solar from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Solar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.27.

First Solar Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $2.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $184.73. 2,018,169 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,577,721. The company has a fifty day moving average of $169.76 and a 200 day moving average of $153.29. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $262.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.50. First Solar had a net margin of 28.95% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

First Solar 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.