Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $11.55 Million Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,554 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 8,162 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.06% of First Solar worth $11,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 665.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock worth $5,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,780 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $104,910,000 after purchasing an additional 49,074 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 owns 103,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSLR traded down $7.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $128.69. 4,687,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,686,483. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.60 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim decreased their target price on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group cut their price objective on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $260.42.

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.