First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Bought by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 45.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,830 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,264 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in First Solar were worth $12,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of First Solar by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,711 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 4,369 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,934 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,570 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,888,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,619,000. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Solar by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 9,625 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR traded down $2.27 on Thursday, reaching $219.06. 1,319,165 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,515,012. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $246.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $794.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total transaction of $393,460.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,736,120.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $393,460.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,736,120.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 16,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.69, for a total transaction of $4,409,049.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,419,797.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,153 shares of company stock valued at $12,540,428. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $224.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.96.

First Solar Company 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.