SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Purchases Shares of 15,000 First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $2,644,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,507 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $2,557,000 after acquiring an additional 7,103 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at $1,242,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in First Solar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,266 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 249,831 shares of the solar cell manufacturer's stock valued at $44,030,000 after acquiring an additional 5,691 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FSLR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $262.08.

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First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR traded down $3.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $135.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,027,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,726,621. The company has a market capitalization of $14.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.96 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.16. 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 results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $3,039,360.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,739 shares of company stock worth $4,289,403 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.