Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $136.29 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 773,292 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,188 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.72% of First Solar worth $136,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 665.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $7,308,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 36.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $5,350,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 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 decreased their price objective on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $139.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.96 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, 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 insiders.

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.