LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 20,500 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. trimmed its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 92.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,630 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 20,500 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,287 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 0.6% in the third quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC now owns 8,116 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 1.0% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 4,930 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 22.9% in the third quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 306 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $263.00 price objective on First Solar in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Glj Research cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $314.43 to $207.82 in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $326.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.65.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 7,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.93, for a total transaction of $1,516,106.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 91,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,983,826.91. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 1,958 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.95, for a total value of $381,712.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,705 shares in the company, valued at $3,451,589.75. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,975 shares of company stock worth $6,267,492. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Up 3.3%

FSLR opened at $195.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $232.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.44. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $116.56 and a one year high of $285.99. The stock has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.65.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.22 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 29.28% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

First Solar Company 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.