Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 17,938 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 362,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,938 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.34% of First Solar worth $63,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,236,383,000 after purchasing an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $647,440,000 after purchasing an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 426,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of First Solar by 0.9% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $434,977,000 after acquiring an additional 15,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 6.1 %

FSLR opened at $139.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.96 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.08 and its 200 day moving average is $194.40. 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.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its 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). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.