Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,453 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after acquiring an additional 279,424 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after acquiring an additional 211,755 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,102,959 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $339,817,000 after acquiring an additional 181,034 shares during the period. Clean Energy Transition LLP raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 948.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $191,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,500 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,003,771 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $162,199,000 after acquiring an additional 74,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $258.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of First Solar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a 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 $231.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $177.48 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $232.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 3.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. First Solar had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

First Solar 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.