Wormser Freres Gestion Raises Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Wormser Freres Gestion boosted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 54.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,069 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Wormser Freres Gestion’s holdings in First Solar were worth $195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 665.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,308,000 after acquiring an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $104,910,000 after acquiring an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 41,342.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,745,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $80,116.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,717 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. 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 1,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,492,640. This trade represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FSLR shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price target on shares of First Solar and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.37.

First Solar Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $158.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.90. 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 stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its 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). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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.