Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 194,038 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 17,389 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.18% of First Solar worth $34,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $304.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.42.

First Solar Trading Down 6.3 %

FSLR traded down $8.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $121.44. 1,183,276 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,716,380. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. 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 50-day moving average of $141.53 and a 200 day moving average of $177.84. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

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.