Amundi Boosts Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Amundi raised its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in First Solar were worth $336,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $139.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.96 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.60.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current 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.