First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Stake Increased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 297.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,381 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 73,625 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.09% of First Solar worth $25,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Solar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,721,979 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,026,108,000 after acquiring an additional 464,130 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in First Solar by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $881,680,000 after acquiring an additional 111,927 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew 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 acquiring an additional 854,919 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 38.6% in 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 period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,350,084 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $223,493,000 after purchasing an additional 47,646 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.53, for a total transaction of $35,915.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,436 shares in the company, valued at $1,882,765.08. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 9,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.62, for a total value of $1,800,971.64. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 9,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,257. This represents a 47.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 75,989 shares of company stock worth $14,921,902 in the last 90 days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $185.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $217.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.67. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $285.99.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results 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). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 29.28%.The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FSLR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Evercore cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $241.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.17.

About First Solar

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.