First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,666,242 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,739 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $469,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its position in First Solar by 543.3% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 151,328 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $26,670,000 after acquiring an additional 19,694 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Solar by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in First Solar by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 194,038 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,197,000 after purchasing an additional 17,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in First Solar by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 2,495 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on FSLR shares. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.42.

First Solar Stock Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $136.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $120.60 and a one year high of $306.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.60. 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 (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.