Ostrum Asset Management Buys New Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Ostrum Asset Management purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,836 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 665.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $7,308,000 after acquiring an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $104,910,000 after purchasing an additional 49,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners raised its holdings in First Solar by 41,342.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the 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 directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $80,116.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FSLR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.96.

First Solar Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded up $5.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $141.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,698,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,777,383. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $133.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.09. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current 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.