Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 3,060 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,798 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,060 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $7,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after purchasing an additional 108,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $647,440,000 after purchasing an additional 24,143 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $434,977,000 after purchasing an additional 15,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 7.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,330,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $331,924,000 after purchasing an additional 90,249 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR traded up $8.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $139.13. 3,456,379 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,725,569. The company has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $167.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.40. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $124.96 and a one year high of $306.77.

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 (EPS) 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 net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the 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 owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.08.

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.