Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL increased its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 36.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares during the quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL’s holdings in First Solar were worth $1,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Usca Ria LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the 2nd quarter valued at $171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.61% of the company’s stock.
In related news, insider Georges Antoun sold 8,476 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.98, for a total transaction of $482,962.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,206,151.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Philip Dejong sold 5,000 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.37, for a total transaction of $266,850.00. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,443 shares of company stock worth $1,852,820. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FSLR shares. Cowen set a $83.00 price target on shares of First Solar and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JMP Securities upgraded shares of First Solar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $82.00 price target on shares of First Solar and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BidaskClub lowered shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.25.
Shares of FSLR stock opened at $50.15 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.27. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.16 and a 52 week high of $69.24. The company has a current ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of -1,253.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30.
First Solar Company Profile
First Solar, Inc provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Modules and Systems. The Components segment designs, manufactures, and sells cadmium telluride solar modules that convert sunlight into electricity. This segment offers its products to integrators and operators of PV solar power systems.
