Picton Mahoney Asset Management Takes Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,365 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 993.4% in the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $80,553,000 after purchasing an additional 293,400 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter worth about $67,652,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in First Solar by 110.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 375,010 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $66,092,000 after acquiring an additional 196,744 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,492,640. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,739 shares of company stock valued at $4,289,403 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FSLR. UBS Group dropped their target price on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America dropped their target price on First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $132.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.96 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.33.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar 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.