Rakuten Securities Inc. Lowers Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 215 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in First Solar by 993.4% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $80,553,000 after purchasing an additional 293,400 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in First Solar during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,652,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in First Solar by 110.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 375,010 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $66,092,000 after purchasing an additional 196,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $55,710.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $624,247.20. The trade was a 8.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,739 shares of company stock valued at $4,289,403. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $132.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $164.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.96 and a 52 week high of $306.77.

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

First Solar Company 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.