First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,683 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,383 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of First Solar worth $17,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Solar by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,859 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in First Solar by 36.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in 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 buying an additional 49,074 shares during the last quarter. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSLR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on First Solar from $297.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Solar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $127.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.17. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.32 and a twelve month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. As a group, research analysts expect 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 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $3,039,360.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Solar 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.