OFI Invest Asset Management Makes New $3.67 Million Investment in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,538 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,666,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after buying an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $647,440,000 after purchasing an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during 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 lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $434,977,000 after purchasing an additional 15,890 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FSLR. Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Up 6.1 %

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $139.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $167.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.60. The company has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.96 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal 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.