Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP grew its stake in First Solar by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,713 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in First Solar by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in First Solar by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Solar by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $131.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $156.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.86. 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 1 year low of $124.96 and a 1 year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $55,710.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,247.20. The trade was a 8.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.58% 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.