AMF Tjanstepension AB Sells 10,672 Shares of First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 323,367 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 10,672 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in First Solar were worth $84,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capstone Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $257,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its position in shares of First Solar by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 15,838 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $4,137,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $908,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter worth about $647,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $233.64 on Tuesday. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $135.50 and a one year high of $285.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $201.37 and its 200 day moving average is $231.25. The company has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.56.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $291.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of First Solar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Solar in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Glj Research downgraded shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $314.43 to $207.82 in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 3,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.95, for a total transaction of $716,898.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,582,887.15. This represents a 31.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 9,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.21, for a total transaction of $2,314,842.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 95,148 shares in the company, valued at $22,189,465.08. This represents a 9.45% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,430 shares of company stock worth $18,670,055. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About First Solar

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.