HighTower Advisors LLC Has $9.79 Million Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 55,550 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,502 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $9,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $856,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 665.8% during the fourth 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 grew its holdings in First Solar by 36.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,780 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $3,039,360.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $484,793.40. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,739 shares of company stock worth $4,289,403 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on FSLR shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on First Solar from $335.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target (down previously from $300.00) on shares of First Solar in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

First Solar Stock Performance

First Solar stock opened at $133.03 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.44. First Solar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.96 and a 52-week high of $306.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52.

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