Nuveen Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 931,774 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 42,786 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.87% of First Solar worth $164,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $55,710.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,695 shares in the company, valued at $624,247.20. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $186.18 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $134.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FSLR. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on First Solar from $235.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.48.

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.