National Bank of Canada FI Sells 190,062 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 75.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 60,465 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 190,062 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in First Solar were worth $10,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Estabrook Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth $29,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, USCF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total transaction of $393,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,663,000 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FSLR. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on First Solar from $224.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $209.50 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $258.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.16.

First Solar Trading Down 2.0 %

FSLR opened at $190.72 on Thursday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $232.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.14. The firm has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.