DJE Kapital AG Buys Shares of 39,257 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 39,257 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $6,963,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in First Solar by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,308 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $441,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 20,662 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $3,641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded down $8.55 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $127.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,694,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,661,246. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.54 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47. The business's 50 day moving average is $171.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.97.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $262.08.

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.