First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 223,933 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.71% of First Solar worth $323,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $262,952.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,965,287.50. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on FSLR. 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. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.42.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR opened at $129.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.84.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.