OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys Shares of 11,300 First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 11,300 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,026,108,000 after purchasing an additional 464,130 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919,991 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $761,396,000 after purchasing an additional 24,206 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in First Solar by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,266,050 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $375,122,000 after purchasing an additional 854,919 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in First Solar by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,025,835 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $459,917,000 after purchasing an additional 564,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at $392,040,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $273.51 on Tuesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.50 and a 52 week high of $320.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $29.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $233.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total value of $2,314,842.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at $22,189,465.08. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 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 $107,383.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 30,712 shares in the company, valued at $6,622,428.56. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 a total of 32,466 shares of company stock worth $8,014,105 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank raised First Solar to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.99.

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.