Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 9,364 Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,544 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock after selling 9,364 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in First Solar were worth $7,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FSLR. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 404.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,404 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,037 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of First Solar in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,053,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,422 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Solar by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 48,289 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $12,045,000 after purchasing an additional 11,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FSLR. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of First Solar in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on First Solar from $240.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on First Solar from $254.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $259.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $265.00 price target on First Solar in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Markus Gloeckler sold 380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total transaction of $50,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 17,594 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,197.50. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Georges Antoun sold 229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.75, for a total value of $30,628.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,066,815. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,311 shares of company stock worth $4,767,158. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Price Performance

First Solar stock opened at $128.46 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a one year low of $124.96 and a one year high of $306.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $157.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.52.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($1.16). First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current year.

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.