Point72 Europe London LLP Acquires 23,346 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Point72 Europe London LLP grew its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 148.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,085 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 23,346 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP's holdings in First Solar were worth $6,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $127,379,000 after buying an additional 718,631 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC increased its position in First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $113,906,000 after acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,248,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $220,045,000 after acquiring an additional 293,134 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FSLR. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the company'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 $50,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

First Solar Stock Up 0.7%

FSLR stock opened at $192.98 on Thursday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $133.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.65. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.56 and a 52-week high of $306.77. 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 $20.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62, 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current 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.

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