3,476 Shares in First Solar, Inc. $FSLR Bought by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,476 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $908,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the second quarter worth $26,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in First Solar during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in First Solar during the third quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Jason E. Dymbort sold 9,022 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.62, for a total value of $1,800,971.64. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 9,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,257. This represents a 47.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Alexander R. Bradley sold 14,106 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total transaction of $2,820,776.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,999,100. The trade was a 31.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,430 shares of company stock valued at $18,670,055. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FSLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of First Solar from $271.00 to $243.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of First Solar to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of First Solar from $252.00 to $237.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of First Solar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $300.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Solar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.03.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of FSLR opened at $237.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $202.87 and its 200-day moving average is $231.14. First Solar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.50 and a fifty-two week high of $285.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. First Solar had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.64 EPS for the current year.

First Solar Company Profile

First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.