Westover Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,387 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in First Solar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,956,633 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,236,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,602,503 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $647,440,000 after acquiring an additional 24,143 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in First Solar by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,364 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $523,166,000 after acquiring an additional 904,498 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in First Solar by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,743,813 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $434,977,000 after acquiring an additional 15,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in First Solar by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,330,675 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $331,924,000 after acquiring an additional 90,249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on shares of First Solar in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.08.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In related news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.60, for a total transaction of $1,021,085.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 owns 103,403 shares in the company, valued at $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of FSLR opened at $127.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.47. First Solar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.54 and a 1 year high of $306.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.97.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. Analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share 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.