M. Kulyk & Associates LLC Buys 1,379 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,988 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the period. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $3,666,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after purchasing an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $640,000. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 10,853 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 6,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $3,586,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Up 6.1 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $139.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $124.96 and a one year high of $306.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.