Doliver Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,680 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,417 shares during the quarter. Doliver Advisors LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $851,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 319.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,706 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $863,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in First Solar by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,024 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,905 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,176,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $4,650,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
First Solar Stock Down 1.6 %
Shares of FSLR traded down $2.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 570,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,449,071. The company has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 463.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $202.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.47. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.60 and a twelve month high of $221.88.
First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $548.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.66 million. First Solar had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 0.71%. The company’s revenue was up 49.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 26,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Solar news, Director Richard D. Chapman sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $1,582,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,576,379. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 26,553 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $5,488,505.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,408,967.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,909 shares of company stock worth $7,870,618. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of First Solar from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Bank of America downgraded First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $196.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. UBS Group upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, March 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on First Solar from $201.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of First Solar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $194.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.88.
First Solar Profile
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.