Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 65 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,234 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in First Solar were worth $10,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,123,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in First Solar by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,454,499 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 351,540 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in First Solar by 11.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,801,916 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $472,963,000 after purchasing an additional 279,719 shares during the period. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $26,359,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the first quarter valued at $21,815,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $248.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of First Solar from $268.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on First Solar from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on First Solar from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Solar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.25.

Insider Activity at First Solar

In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other First Solar news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $421,460.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,740. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick James Buehler sold 8,619 shares of First Solar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.00, for a total value of $1,913,418.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ FSLR opened at $235.95 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.44.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $939.71 million. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.73% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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.