First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,569 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 8,086 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of First Solar worth $9,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,945,549,000 after buying an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $369,024,000 after purchasing an additional 211,755 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,102,959 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $339,817,000 after acquiring an additional 181,034 shares in the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP boosted its stake in First Solar by 948.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $191,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in First Solar by 8.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,003,771 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $162,199,000 after buying an additional 74,431 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FSLR. Evercore ISI upgraded First Solar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $227.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on First Solar from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 250 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.34, for a total transaction of $37,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at $2,736,120.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,785 shares of company stock valued at $5,265,869 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $4.96 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $191.93. 2,374,948 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,070,719. The firm has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $172.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $224.50.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. First Solar's revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Company 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.