Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Grows Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 7,902.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,122 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,372,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 1,355.3% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC raised its holdings in First Solar by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,666,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $139.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $167.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.40. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.96 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their price target on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

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.