1,800,947 Shares in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,800,947 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $317,399,000. Norges Bank owned 1.68% of First Solar as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FSLR. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Solar by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Solar by 665.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,308,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 36.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $5,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,780 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in First Solar by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $104,910,000 after purchasing an additional 49,074 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 17,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FSLR shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho upgraded First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $127.32 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.17. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.32 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77. 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 company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

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.