Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 9,843 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,485 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 9,843 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 1,757.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 546,193 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $136,242,000 after buying an additional 516,783 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 293,400 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth about $67,652,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of First Solar by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 375,010 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $66,092,000 after acquiring an additional 196,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $127.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.54 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $171.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.97.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The company 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%. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FSLR shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Solar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

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.