First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Shares Sold by Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd reduced its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 41.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,217 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 25,210 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd’s holdings in First Solar were worth $9,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,040,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in First Solar by 60.6% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $375,122,000 after buying an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at $200,109,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 2,663.8% in the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 666,307 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $174,059,000 after acquiring an additional 642,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $459,917,000 after acquiring an additional 564,032 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $243.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.99.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $264.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.71. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.50 and a twelve month high of $320.95.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total transaction of $1,191,375.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,029,435.19. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total value of $88,192.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 10,409 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,492.67. This trade represents a 3.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105 over the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.