AIA Group Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

AIA Group Ltd reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 62.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,716 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 4,483 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in First Solar were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,392 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in First Solar by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 37,400 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $6,443,000 after buying an additional 14,565 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,144 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $6,227,000 after buying an additional 20,710 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Slow Capital Inc. lifted its position in First Solar by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 30,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $5,202,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total transaction of $422,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 1,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $338,975.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.00, for a total value of $422,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Barclays increased their target price on First Solar from $224.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their target price on First Solar from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on First Solar in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on First Solar from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.68.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $175.04 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $161.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.41.

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

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.