Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $9.51 Million Stock Holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 39.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,441 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 35,242 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in First Solar were worth $9,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 665.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $7,308,000 after acquiring an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 36.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,446 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $5,350,000 after acquiring an additional 5,780 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of First Solar by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $104,910,000 after acquiring an additional 49,074 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Solar Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of First Solar stock opened at $132.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.64. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.96 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. The trade was a 17.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,739 shares of company stock worth $4,289,403. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 target price on First Solar in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.08.

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.