Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys Shares of 10,665 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,665 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $1,880,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $262.08.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $55,710.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,247.20. This represents a 8.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Solar Trading Up 0.2 %

FSLR traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $127.87. The company had a trading volume of 526,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,750. The company has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $147.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.30. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.60 and a 12-month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. Equities research analysts expect 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.