Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 63,739 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.49% of First Solar worth $469,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 543.3% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in First Solar by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 151,328 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $26,670,000 after purchasing an additional 19,694 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,110,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in First Solar by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 194,038 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $34,197,000 after purchasing an additional 17,389 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in First Solar by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 2,495 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,114,648.75. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Up 7.7 %

First Solar stock traded up $9.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,014,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,722,048. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.84. The company has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FSLR. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Solar from $304.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.42.

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.