AIA Group Ltd Has $440,000 Stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 133.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,495 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,427 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in First Solar were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,457 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 2,796 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $240,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in First Solar by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,328 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of First Solar by 12.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,371 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Solar

In other news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,589,129.27. This trade represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.96, for a total transaction of $55,710.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $624,247.20. This represents a 8.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Up 0.9 %

FSLR stock opened at $127.57 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.30. 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 has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.60 and a fifty-two week high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last released its 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 net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSLR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $246.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price target on First Solar in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.