Intech Investment Management LLC Takes $775,000 Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,177 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $775,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 197.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,336,038 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $111,880,000 after acquiring an additional 887,443 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at $100,007,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 931,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $77,962,000 after buying an additional 397,100 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth $43,765,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth $42,687,000. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup cut First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $194.00 in a report on Friday, April 21st. Barclays upped their target price on First Solar from $162.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on First Solar from $180.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley cut First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $194.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, Director William J. Post sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.52, for a total transaction of $2,185,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,289,713.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 26,553 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total value of $5,488,505.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,408,967.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William J. Post sold 10,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.52, for a total value of $2,185,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,289,713.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,409 shares of company stock valued at $10,629,093. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of FSLR opened at $203.53 on Monday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.77 and a 52 week high of $232.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 521.89 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $203.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.74.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $548.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.66 million. First Solar had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 0.71%. The business’s revenue was up 49.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.41) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.

About First Solar

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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.