Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 75.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,007 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,202 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in First Solar were worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after purchasing an additional 120,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $469,154,000 after buying an additional 63,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in First Solar by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $323,410,000 after buying an additional 223,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Glj Research upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $172.37 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price target on First Solar and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR stock opened at $127.16 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $130.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.33. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current 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.