First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd decreased its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 62.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,716 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 4,483 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in First Solar were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after buying an additional 279,424 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,266,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $927,972,000 after buying an additional 179,035 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after buying an additional 211,755 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,236,723 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $485,528,000 after buying an additional 56,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,102,959 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $339,817,000 after buying an additional 181,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank began coverage on First Solar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $108,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $175.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $161.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $232.00.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

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.