Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,285 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 3,817 shares during the period. First Solar accounts for 1.7% of Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $8,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $7,308,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 5,780 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $104,910,000 after acquiring an additional 49,074 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,492,640. This trade represents a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.42.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $128.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.60 and a 52-week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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.