First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Stake Reduced by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,137 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 12,416 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of First Solar worth $10,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Solar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 4,713 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of First Solar by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,090 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares in the company, valued at $7,066,815. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $127.32 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.32 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.33.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on FSLR. Citigroup cut their price objective on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

About First Solar

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.