Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 2,577.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 106,595 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,614 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $18,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirova US LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after buying an additional 585,394 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in First Solar by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,572 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Solar by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,930 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 16,653 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 140,035 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $24,680,000 after acquiring an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,739 shares of company stock worth $4,289,403 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR opened at $133.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.31 and a 200-day moving average of $190.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.96 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their target price on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued 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 a consensus 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.