Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 3,200 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,402 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in First Solar were worth $8,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AtonRa Partners increased its stake in First Solar by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. AtonRa Partners now owns 3,600 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $575,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in First Solar by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 75,805 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $13,088,000 after buying an additional 14,264 shares in the last quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in First Solar by 2,009.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 180,681 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $31,128,000 after acquiring an additional 172,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

FSLR opened at $191.55 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $232.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.60 and a 200 day moving average of $158.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 3.55. The firm has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.37.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.30. First Solar had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $794.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 44.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $108,640.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $108,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 14,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,315,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R Craig Kennedy sold 1,500 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.76, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,467,524.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,540. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on First Solar from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $359.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of First Solar from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.16.

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.