California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 46,402 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,294 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 46,402 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.14% of First Solar worth $26,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Estabrook Capital Management bought a new position in First Solar during the third quarter worth $29,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in First Solar during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on FSLR shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI raised shares of First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First Solar from $224.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.36.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $338,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Up 2.1 %

FSLR stock opened at $178.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $232.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.24.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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.