First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Bought by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,302 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after buying an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 961.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP increased its holdings in First Solar by 993.4% during the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $80,553,000 after purchasing an additional 293,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in First Solar by 110.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 375,010 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $66,092,000 after purchasing an additional 196,744 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Trading Up 1.8 %

First Solar stock opened at $129.82 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.60 and a 12-month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.93.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar 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.