Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $372,000 Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 73.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,111 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 5,968 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in First Solar were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,037 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 5.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,422 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in First Solar by 32.7% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 48,289 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $12,045,000 after purchasing an additional 11,894 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Solar by 8.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,718 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 17.0% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,313 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

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First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock traded down $5.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.34. 3,692,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,590,464. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $154.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.61 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $285.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,648.75. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last quarter. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.