Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 5,968 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 73.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,111 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,968 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 75.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after purchasing an additional 904,498 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 961.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after purchasing an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 31.0% during the fourth 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. Merewether Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 993.4% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 322,936 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $80,553,000 after purchasing an additional 293,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the third quarter worth $67,652,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down previously from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on First Solar in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price target on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $131.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.26 and its 200-day moving average is $188.05. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $124.96 and a one year high of $306.77.

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 analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,272 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total value of $169,125.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,492,640. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Solar Company Profile

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.