Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 2,017 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,114 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,017 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $7,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,821,701 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $2,259,697,000 after buying an additional 120,289 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in First Solar by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 53,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $9,460,000 after buying an additional 8,167 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of First Solar by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 3,306 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $14,469,000. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Up 0.6 %

First Solar stock opened at $127.32 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.28 and a 200-day moving average of $185.17. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $124.32 and a one year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. On average, equities analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $30,628.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. 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.