49,171 Shares in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 49,171 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,666,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the third quarter worth $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 214.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Solar by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,589,129.27. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the company’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 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,739 shares of company stock valued at $4,289,403. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Solar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of FSLR opened at $132.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $124.96 and a one year high of $306.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.33.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on First Solar from $280.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on First Solar from $307.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on First Solar from $273.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.08.

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.