Ossiam Has $1.78 Million Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Ossiam increased its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 195.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,120 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 6,695 shares during the period. Ossiam's holdings in First Solar were worth $1,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 475 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,492,640. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on FSLR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $304.00 to $253.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.96.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR stock traded up $5.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $141.86. 2,695,044 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,773,001. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $133.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.67. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The firm has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Solar

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.