Polar Capital Holdings Plc Sells 426,021 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc trimmed its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 63.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 247,749 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 426,021 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned 0.23% of First Solar worth $43,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Solar in the 4th quarter worth $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 17,404.5% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after buying an additional 718,631 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its stake in First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $113,906,000 after buying an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after buying an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in First Solar by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,248,552 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $220,045,000 after acquiring an additional 293,134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer downgraded First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 target price on First Solar and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.48.

First Solar Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $192.98 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.55). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The company had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,066,815. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.