First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 444,651 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 60,054 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.42% of First Solar worth $76,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in First Solar in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management bought a new position in First Solar in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the third quarter worth $32,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Down 1.1 %

FSLR traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $182.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,912,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,805,957. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $232.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $158.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.58.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The business's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on FSLR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of First Solar from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.96.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 12,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% 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.