Legal & General Group Plc Sells 224,015 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 767,025 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after selling 224,015 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.72% of First Solar worth $135,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in First Solar in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 475 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Remove Ads

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock traded down $4.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $126.79. 2,032,258 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,734,071. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $139.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.76. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on First Solar from $285.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.63.

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.