Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,261 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 579 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $8,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 665.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 36.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,350,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in 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 worth $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FSLR. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of First Solar in a report on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 2.2 %

FSLR stock opened at $131.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.96 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.86. The company has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Company 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.