Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 6,223 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Morse Asset Management Inc cut its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,226 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 6,223 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc's holdings in First Solar were worth $1,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,259,697,000 after acquiring an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Solar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $469,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in First Solar by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in First Solar by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $323,410,000 after purchasing an additional 223,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in First Solar by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FSLR. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of First Solar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.48.

First Solar Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $7.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $178.46. The stock had a trading volume of 5,251,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,060,882. The firm's fifty day moving average is $134.18 and its 200 day moving average is $163.52. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.56 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 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 value of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. 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 over the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.