First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stake Boosted by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp raised its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,304 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its stake in First Solar by 993.4% in the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $80,553,000 after acquiring an additional 293,400 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth about $67,652,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in First Solar by 110.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 375,010 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $66,092,000 after acquiring an additional 196,744 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $139.10 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.43 and its 200-day moving average is $193.16. The company has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.96 and a 52-week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,492,640. This trade represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $55,710.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,247.20. This represents a 8.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,739 shares of company stock valued at $4,289,403. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Solar Company 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.