TD Asset Management Inc Reduces Stake in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,929 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,615 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in First Solar were worth $19,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in First Solar by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 9,044 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 516 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,529 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 18,862 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $243.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Glj Research cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $314.43 to $207.82 in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of First Solar from $258.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In related news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.63, for a total transaction of $107,383.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 30,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,622,428.56. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total transaction of $1,191,375.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,033 shares in the company, valued at $22,029,435.19. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 61,426 shares of company stock worth $13,802,836 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock opened at $279.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.50 and a 1-year high of $320.95.

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. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. First Solar’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.