Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 2,098 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,630 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,098 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in First Solar were worth $6,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in First Solar by 665.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,192 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,308,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in First Solar by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 595,267 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $104,910,000 after buying an additional 49,074 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in First Solar by 41,342.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,901 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in First Solar during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,745,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR stock opened at $155.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.07 and its 200 day moving average is $161.14. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.56 and a twelve month high of $306.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $1.95 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. First Solar’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Solar

In other news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $50,825.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,197.50. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 1,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $262,952.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,965,287.50. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock valued at $4,767,158. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $223.00 price objective on First Solar and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp lowered First Solar from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on First Solar from $267.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer lowered First Solar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on First Solar from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.37.

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.