OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Boosts Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 53.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,802 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,905 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in First Solar were worth $3,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 171,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $30,286,000 after purchasing an additional 11,781 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,990 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 2,577.6% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 106,595 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $18,786,000 after purchasing an additional 102,614 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 961.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of First Solar by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,572 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FSLR. Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $262.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR stock traded up $2.86 on Friday, hitting $131.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,507,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,179. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.96 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The stock has a market cap 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal 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.