LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,167 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.05% of First Solar worth $9,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in First Solar by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after purchasing an additional 108,984 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $647,440,000 after buying an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in First Solar by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 773,292 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $136,285,000 after acquiring an additional 57,188 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $55,710.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,247.20. The trade was a 8.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut their target price on First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $304.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.42.

First Solar Stock Up 7.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR traded up $9.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.63. 6,014,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,722,062. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The company has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.67 and a 52 week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

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.