Viking Fund Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR

Viking Fund Management LLC lowered its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $4,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Joule Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter valued at about $950,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in First Solar by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,155 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $17,015,000 after acquiring an additional 13,904 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,193,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in First Solar by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,326,082 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $881,680,000 after acquiring an additional 111,927 shares during the period. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First Solar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSLR. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $279.00 to $228.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of First Solar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $215.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Solar in a research report on Monday, January 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 14,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $2,820,776.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,999,100. The trade was a 31.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 3,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.95, for a total value of $716,898.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,582,887.15. This represents a 31.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,989 shares of company stock valued at $14,921,902. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Solar Trading Up 1.5%

FSLR opened at $192.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $219.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.35. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.56 and a 12-month high of $285.99.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.22 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 29.28%.First Solar’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Company Profile

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.