Quantinno Capital Management LP Has $1.50 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 290.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,494 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,317 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 665.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,308,000 after acquiring an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $104,910,000 after acquiring an additional 49,074 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in shares of First Solar by 41,342.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 in the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $156.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.32 and a 200-day moving average of $162.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.56 and a 12 month high of $306.77. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). The company had revenue of $844.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FSLR shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Glj Research raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $172.37 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of First Solar from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.30.

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.