Greenleaf Trust Sells 1,924 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Greenleaf Trust lowered its holdings in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 28.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,889 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,924 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in First Solar were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in First Solar by 396.5% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 11,777 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 9,405 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in First Solar by 7.1% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 48,722 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in First Solar by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 189,320 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $23,936,000 after acquiring an additional 23,528 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in First Solar by 24.7% during the first quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 9,682 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in First Solar by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,807 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,138,000 after buying an additional 4,542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FSLR opened at $162.44 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.29. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.56 and a fifty-two week high of $262.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $844.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.11 million. First Solar had a net margin of 29.72% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FSLR. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $223.00 to $217.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of First Solar from $204.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $191.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Solar news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 9,557 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.05, for a total value of $1,481,812.85. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 8,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,136.85. This trade represents a 54.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Koralewski sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total transaction of $466,877.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,798,689.49. This trade represents a 20.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,976 shares of company stock worth $2,515,172. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.