Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Buys 26,000 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,843 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 26,000 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.14% of First Solar worth $26,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 17,404.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $113,906,000 after buying an additional 585,394 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 262,482 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $304.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price target on First Solar and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.96.

First Solar Trading Up 4.0 %

NASDAQ:FSLR traded up $5.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $141.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,696,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,773,003. The business's fifty day moving average is $133.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.67. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The firm has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

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.