Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 86,003 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,034 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of First Solar worth $15,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in First Solar by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of First Solar by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 511 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (down previously from $285.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.42.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $128.69 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.04. 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 twelve month low of $120.60 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About First Solar

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.