Nordea Investment Management AB Invests $755,000 in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,146 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,457,489 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,250,942,000 after acquiring an additional 136,323 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in First Solar by 1.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,230,644 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $270,534,000 after acquiring an additional 60,266 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Solar by 8.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,655,227 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $218,933,000 after acquiring an additional 131,174 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 197.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,336,038 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $111,880,000 after acquiring an additional 887,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Solar by 11.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,285,865 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $107,678,000 after acquiring an additional 132,285 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $231.69 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.78 and a 200-day moving average of $177.31. The company has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 594.08 and a beta of 1.42. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.77 and a 1-year high of $232.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $548.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.66 million. First Solar had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 0.71%. The company’s revenue was up 49.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.21, for a total transaction of $322,338.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,858.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.21, for a total transaction of $322,338.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 5,039 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,858.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 26,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $5,488,505.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 108,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,408,967.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,909 shares of company stock valued at $7,870,618. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 10th. Susquehanna upped their target price on First Solar from $175.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Cowen upped their target price on First Solar from $195.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on First Solar from $188.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $206.88.

First Solar Company Profile

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First Solar, Inc is a solar technology company, which engages in the provision of solar modules. It is involved in the design, manufacture, and sale of cadmium tellurid (CdTe) solar modules, which convert sunlight into electricity. The company was founded by Michael J. Ahearn in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, AZ.