Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Trims Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,732 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FSLR. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 38.2% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,439 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in First Solar by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 729 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,694 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,976 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 58.8% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 18,671 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 6,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank began coverage on First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.36.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $178.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.92. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $232.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $163.40 and its 200 day moving average is $157.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,467,524.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,539,477.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,641 shares in the company, valued at $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock worth $4,269,540 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.