Lido Advisors LLC Has $1.37 Million Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 54.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,794 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 2,743 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 131,634 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $32,835,000 after acquiring an additional 12,439 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Solar by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,713 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,662 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 4,926 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.87.

First Solar Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $0.40 on Tuesday, reaching $126.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,694,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,859,988. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.