Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 2,577.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,595 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 102,614 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of First Solar worth $18,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Mirova US LLC grew its position in First Solar by 961.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in First Solar by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,572 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,930 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 16,653 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of First Solar by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 140,035 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $24,680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FSLR. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $131.32. 4,507,994 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,566,033. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $157.42 and a 200 day moving average of $188.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.96 and a 1 year high of $306.77. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar 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 of the company's stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $80,116.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,648.75. This trade represents a 1.29 % 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 worth $4,767,158. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.