First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Sold by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,040,031 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,945,549,000 after buying an additional 279,424 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First Solar by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,283,705 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,024,000 after purchasing an additional 211,755 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in First Solar by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,102,959 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $339,817,000 after purchasing an additional 181,034 shares during the period. Clean Energy Transition LLP raised its position in First Solar by 948.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,186,646 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $191,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of First Solar by 8.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,003,771 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $162,199,000 after buying an additional 74,431 shares in the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,467,524.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 16,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.55, for a total value of $2,592,551.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,539,477.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,663,000. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FSLR. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. DZ Bank began coverage on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on First Solar from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of First Solar from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.16.

First Solar Stock Up 0.4 %

FSLR traded up $0.86 on Tuesday, reaching $194.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,744,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,104. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $232.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.56 and its 200 day moving average is $158.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.37.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.19 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 16.24% and a net margin of 28.75%. The business’s revenue was up 44.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.