Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Sells 331 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,145 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Solar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $317,399,000. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 17,404.5% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 722,760 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $127,379,000 after acquiring an additional 718,631 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 961.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 646,310 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $113,906,000 after acquiring an additional 585,394 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in First Solar by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,805,244 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $336,871,000 after acquiring an additional 426,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 218.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 446,799 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $78,744,000 after purchasing an additional 306,581 shares during the period. 92.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $282.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Glj Research raised shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $172.37 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of First Solar from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.37.

First Solar Stock Performance

FSLR opened at $158.38 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.90. The company has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.56 and a 1-year high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. On average, analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kuntal Kumar Verma sold 7,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $484,793.40. This represents a 67.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 21,542 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.