Shell Asset Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,333 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 665.8% during 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 position in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in First Solar by 9.0% during 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. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings 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 worth $511,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $178.46 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $134.97 and its 200 day moving average is $162.92. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.56 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp cut First Solar from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on First Solar from $237.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.