Leonteq Securities AG Buys Shares of 5,808 First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 5,808 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,517,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Joule Financial LLC bought a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $950,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,155 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,015,000 after purchasing an additional 13,904 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,193,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 41,419 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $9,134,000 after purchasing an additional 8,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 150,379 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $33,163,000 after purchasing an additional 62,048 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Trading Up 4.6%

FSLR opened at $248.88 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.50 and a fifty-two week high of $285.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $203.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.01.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.02, for a total transaction of $312,026.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,525,396.96. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $46,360.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,642 shares in the company, valued at $3,157,254.46. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,430 shares of company stock worth $18,670,055. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $300.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $300.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.40.

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.