LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 400 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,919 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 411.1% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in First Solar during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in First Solar during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Solar news, CAO Byron Michael Jeffers sold 1,766 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $382,339.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total transaction of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,896. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,506 shares of company stock worth $2,827,217 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of FSLR opened at $208.22 on Wednesday. First Solar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $306.77. The firm has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.23.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.56. First Solar had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 17.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSLR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $209.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $262.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.25.

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.