Humankind Investments LLC Buys 216 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Humankind Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,290 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Humankind Investments LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,259,697,000 after buying an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $469,154,000 after purchasing an additional 63,739 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,359,846 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 262,482 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,835,056 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $323,410,000 after purchasing an additional 223,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 5.2%

FSLR stock opened at $140.74 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.55. The company has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $202.00 to $127.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $236.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Glj Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $172.37 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $253.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 599 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $80,116.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,114,648.75. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Profile

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.