Allstate Corp Makes New $528,000 Investment in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,998 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,457 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 2,796 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the third quarter worth $240,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in First Solar by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,328 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of First Solar by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,371 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth $229,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on First Solar from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

First Solar Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of FSLR opened at $127.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.60 and a 1-year high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.30.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total value of $1,021,085.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.